Getting Egg-cited About Easter? (sorry, couldn’t help myself!)
Easter is traditionally a religious holiday, but has clearly turned into another one of these consumer concoctions aimed at dumbing us down, stripping us of our hard earned money, and fattening us up.
But come on, if celebrated in the right way, Easter is FUN!
We love to decorate eggs around here. We seem to theme our eggs: one year it was pirates and the carton was the sailing ship… another year it was different animals… perhaps this year we will attempt politicians. Err. Maybe not.
Now that we have an abundance of fresh eggies we are all the more excited get dying. But before we do, let’s talk dyes.
In the past we have bought those little coloured pellets, added hot water and Bob’s your uncle.
I was pickling beets a few days ago, and was left with a red hand and a whole bunch of peels... which led me to think of what I could do with them besides feed them to the chickens. So, I popped them into a pot with some water, boiled them down, added some vinegar and popped them into canning jars. Nowe we have enough dye to make every egg in Cape Breton red!
Needless to say, this year we are going to experiment with natural dyes. Approaching it from a science can be fun, and so can our kitchen perspective!
Another bonus to making your own dyes, is that many kitchens and pantries already have the spices, fruits, vegetables, and other items that can be used to create all-natural colors.
Easter is traditionally a religious holiday, but has clearly turned into another one of these consumer concoctions aimed at dumbing us down, stripping us of our hard earned money, and fattening us up.
But come on, if celebrated in the right way, Easter is FUN!
We love to decorate eggs around here. We seem to theme our eggs: one year it was pirates and the carton was the sailing ship… another year it was different animals… perhaps this year we will attempt politicians. Err. Maybe not.
Now that we have an abundance of fresh eggies we are all the more excited get dying. But before we do, let’s talk dyes.
In the past we have bought those little coloured pellets, added hot water and Bob’s your uncle.
I was pickling beets a few days ago, and was left with a red hand and a whole bunch of peels... which led me to think of what I could do with them besides feed them to the chickens. So, I popped them into a pot with some water, boiled them down, added some vinegar and popped them into canning jars. Nowe we have enough dye to make every egg in Cape Breton red!
Needless to say, this year we are going to experiment with natural dyes. Approaching it from a science can be fun, and so can our kitchen perspective!
Another bonus to making your own dyes, is that many kitchens and pantries already have the spices, fruits, vegetables, and other items that can be used to create all-natural colors.
What you need:
Hot water
Pots
Vinegar
Dying ingredients
A strainer or cheese cloth
Containers for dying eggs
Make sure the hard-boiled eggs have cooled and are wiped free of any residue before getting started. If you are blowing your eggs make sure they are clean.
Simmer the ingredients until desired color is achieved. The eggs will turn out a lighter shade than what appears in the pan.
After straining the ingredients, add one tablespoon of vinegar to the dye in order to ensure staying power.
Allow dye water to cool until it is warm to the touch.
Dye eggs in containers that are deep enough to cover eggs completely.
Colours
Pastel Colours:
◦Yellow — steep 4 green tea or chamomile tea bags in a cup of hot water for 5 min, add vinegar and soak eggs until desired depth of yellow color appears
◦Pink — use cranberry or red grape juice thinned with water
◦Light Blue — purple grape juice, vinegar and a dash of water
◦Lavender — steep hibiscus or “Red Zinger” tea bags in 1 cup hot water for 5 min, add vinegar
Spiced Up Colours:
Simply boil spices with 1-2tbsp per cup of water. Add1 tsp vinegar when cooled:
◦Vibrant Yellow — boil ground cumin or turmeric
◦Orange —paprika
◦Earthy Rusty Brown — chili powder
◦Light Brown-Gold — cloves or dill seeds
Kitchen Colours:
◦Beige — make a cup of coffee or tea… don’t drink it! Add vinegar.
◦Bright Red — simmer beet peels (or a chopped up beet) in a cup of water, or boil the holy bejesus out of red onion skins
◦Orange — boil yellow onion skins
◦Green — mulch one bunch of parsley, carrot tops or other greens in the blender/food processor, add to 1 cup hot water and boil for 5 minutes. Strain and add vinegar.
The longer you soak the eggs, the darker the colour. You can also try mixing colours to make new hybrids!
Texture and Design:
Use white wax crayons or hunk of beeswax to “draw” on your egg. The wax will resist the dye.
Carefully apply rubber bands of varying thicknesses to hardboiled eggs (careful with blown eggs) before dying to create stripes or random rings of color.
If you are planning on eating the eggs and want to make a statement try gently cracking your hard boiled eggs, creating a marbled texture, before dying. The dye will seep through the cracks and colour the egg… it looks fab!
And hey, it isn't too often one can wish another "Happy Dying" and feel good about themselves.
Hot water
Pots
Vinegar
Dying ingredients
A strainer or cheese cloth
Containers for dying eggs
Make sure the hard-boiled eggs have cooled and are wiped free of any residue before getting started. If you are blowing your eggs make sure they are clean.
Simmer the ingredients until desired color is achieved. The eggs will turn out a lighter shade than what appears in the pan.
After straining the ingredients, add one tablespoon of vinegar to the dye in order to ensure staying power.
Allow dye water to cool until it is warm to the touch.
Dye eggs in containers that are deep enough to cover eggs completely.
Colours
Pastel Colours:
◦Yellow — steep 4 green tea or chamomile tea bags in a cup of hot water for 5 min, add vinegar and soak eggs until desired depth of yellow color appears
◦Pink — use cranberry or red grape juice thinned with water
◦Light Blue — purple grape juice, vinegar and a dash of water
◦Lavender — steep hibiscus or “Red Zinger” tea bags in 1 cup hot water for 5 min, add vinegar
Spiced Up Colours:
Simply boil spices with 1-2tbsp per cup of water. Add1 tsp vinegar when cooled:
◦Vibrant Yellow — boil ground cumin or turmeric
◦Orange —paprika
◦Earthy Rusty Brown — chili powder
◦Light Brown-Gold — cloves or dill seeds
Kitchen Colours:
◦Beige — make a cup of coffee or tea… don’t drink it! Add vinegar.
◦Bright Red — simmer beet peels (or a chopped up beet) in a cup of water, or boil the holy bejesus out of red onion skins
◦Orange — boil yellow onion skins
◦Green — mulch one bunch of parsley, carrot tops or other greens in the blender/food processor, add to 1 cup hot water and boil for 5 minutes. Strain and add vinegar.
The longer you soak the eggs, the darker the colour. You can also try mixing colours to make new hybrids!
Texture and Design:
Use white wax crayons or hunk of beeswax to “draw” on your egg. The wax will resist the dye.
Carefully apply rubber bands of varying thicknesses to hardboiled eggs (careful with blown eggs) before dying to create stripes or random rings of color.
If you are planning on eating the eggs and want to make a statement try gently cracking your hard boiled eggs, creating a marbled texture, before dying. The dye will seep through the cracks and colour the egg… it looks fab!
And hey, it isn't too often one can wish another "Happy Dying" and feel good about themselves.
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