Easter is upon us and with it, a plethora of vibrant, foil wrapped, chocolate eggs for the kids (and adults!) to get their teeth into. But what about something different and, dare we say it, healthy?!
Eggs are heroes. They’re an unrivaled kitchen staple. Scrambled, poached, fried or boiled they’re amazing and a faithful binding agent in sweet and savory recipes to boot. And now, they can take on a new role in your Spring celebrations – you can dye eggs naturally to create colourful and edible springtime displays, which makes for a great holiday activity for the kids.
Red cabbage, beetroot, tumeric and onion are all natural agents that can colour your eggs happy and liven up your Spring table. Here’s Martha Stewart‘s guide to gaining colourful eggs:
Before you dye any egg, wipe the eggshell gently with vinegar in order to help the egg absorb color.
Onion Skin
1. For a mottled look, wrap onion skins around the raw eggs covering the entire egg. Wrap the covered egg with cheese cloth tightly, being careful not to break the egg. This keeps the skins close to the shell. Secure cheesecloth with a twist tie.
2. Lower the wrapped egg into a boiling mixture of 1 quart water and 2 tablespoons of vinegar. Boil for 20 minutes.
3. Remove eggs and let cool. Unwrap cheesecloth and onion skins.
4. As an alternative, you can create an onion skin bath consisting of 2 quarts water, 2 quarts packed onion skins, 1/4 cup vinegar, and 1/4 cup salt. Soak precooked eggs overnight in the mixture.
Red Cabbage
1. Hard-boil eggs until cooked.
2. Boil one head of cabbage in two quarts of water for 30 minutes. Strain pre-boiled cabbage water into bowl.
3. Add 4 tablespoons salt and 4 tablespoons vinegar.
4. Lower egg into bath. Let soak 30 seconds to 1 minute for pale color. For deeper colors, let soak overnight.
Turmeric
1. Hard-boil eggs until cooked.
2. To a pot filled with two quarts of very strong coffee, add 1/4 cup vinegar and 1/4 cup salt.
3. Lower egg into bath. Let soak overnight.
Beetroot
1. Hard-boil eggs until cooked.
2. To a pot filled with 8 cups of water, add 8 cups chopped beetroot 1/4 cup vinegar, and 1/4 cup salt.
3. Lower egg into bath.
Thanks to Martha Stewart, Sex, Food & Rock ‘n’ Roll and Back to her Roots for the images.