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  • March 29, 2023
Gardening Recipes
 
Craft Projects Photography

Natural Egg Dye: A Rainbow of Options

March 15, 2012 By radmegan 56 Comments

Last week I shared a sneak peek of some eggs I’d dyed using all-natural ingredients. This project came about when the television show, The Doctors contacted me to see if I would be interested in coming on their program to share ideas for natural dyes! I was honored and STOKED that they had reached out. And even though my segment was cut way, way down (so far down that I’m not even in the segment- it’s really just a cameo of my eggs…) I wanted to share the full recipes for each of the dye colors I made. 
A lot of natural dyes take quite a bit longer to set than chemical-based commercial dyes. When I used dry ingredients such as Turmeric, tea or cabbage leaves and instant coffee, I always started with a room-temperature egg (to prevent cracking during the boiling process) in a small sauce pan with two cups of lukewarm water. I wanted to set a constant for my dyes, and 2 cups liquid was it! I would bring the liquid to a boil and cook the egg for at least 11 minutes, sometimes a bit longer. I used white vinegar as my mordant. During my first few dye jobs, I omitted the vinegar, and found that the color didn’t hold as well.
When the eggs were cooked, and I was confident that the color had begun to release from the dyeing agent I was using, I would remove the egg(s) from the saucer, and pour the hot liquid into a glass mason jar. Then I would carefully lower the egg into the jar, being sure it was covered completely. 
If I had not been using my trusty Sharpie and roll o’ masking tape to label these jars, I would have had no idea how I’d made each color… 
I let the jars cool on the counter, and then placed them ALL in the bottom shelf of our refrigerator overnight. 
When it was time for the unveiling the next morning, I was thrilled with the unexpected colors! I had read that natural dye can leave an egg looking dry and that you could give your egg a little gloss using mineral oil! A trick I used and VERY much enjoyed!

Below are the individual “recipe cards” for just about each egg color I made…

This blue was my personal favorite! It should be noted that red cabbage is a PH indicator, and that it creates carbonation when combined with the white vinegar, so you will want to open your jar of cabbage dye at least once a day to release the gas build up!
This Army Green was my second favorite color…

Turmeric REALLY stains everything so be careful when you use this stuff!

I loved the speckled result I got when I boiled an egg in straight cran-raspberry juice…

…and how this onion & carrot top egg looks like scorched earth!

Adding the mineral oil polish to some of the eggs really did provide amazing textural contrast to the ones I left in a natural matte finish.

When I dyed this egg in half white wine and half red (the cheapest Trader Joe’s carried) these INCREDIBLE crystals formed all over the surface of the shell. It looked like a snow-encrusted version of the cran-raspberry egg! I tried dyeing an egg in straight red wine and got the same crystal-formation with a more plum colored egg! If anyone can explain the science behind this, I would LOVE to know!

Using red onion skins gave off a beautiful mottled red and turquoise look.

Straight dill seed, water and vinegar came up with this really nice lemon-lime color.

I love that some of the eggs came out of the dye with an overall, even color, while others were very textural and almost looked scarred. I was surprised that beets didn’t give me enough of a pink hue to really want to share with you- they sort of made white eggs just look like brown eggs. Aside from that, there were no disappointments in the whole lot! 

Since I used these eggs for television purposes, I didn’t eat any of them to see if the flavor was imparted into the egg, but I suspect it was, based on my experiments with Chinese Tea Eggs… 

One more note about vinegar and eggs… if you allow your eggs to soak in a natural dye with MORE than a tablespoon of vinegar, the shell will begin to soften overtime. It’s both cool, and gross!

If anyone has anything to add about natural dye, or if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below! I feel like I could write a book on dyeing eggs with all-natural materials now!


Oh- and coming soon- a great and natural way to decorate the eggs that do crack in the cooking process… stay tuned!!


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Related posts:

Natural Egg Dye: A Sneak Peek! Seeds, Tea and Herbs, Oh My! Making Textured Easter Eggs My Eggs on The Doctors Today! 4491907491_2fec7d9525_bPhoto Saturday: Happy Easter Eggs Needle-Felted Peeps: Pattern Now Available 5173890346_b9c8bf2004Cooking: Martha’s Sweet Potato Soufflé

Filed Under: Crafts, Holiday Tagged With: color, easter, eggs, green, natural dye


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Comments

  1. AmyJ says

    March 15, 2012 at 1:03 pm

    What’s the word on how permanent the dye is? Do you think the eggs need to be sealed with something and, if so, maybe the mineral oil will work?

    So excited to try this…

    Reply
  2. radmegan says

    March 15, 2012 at 1:21 pm

    Pretty darn permanent! I tried to rub off the dyes after the eggs had dried completely…no luck. It got me thinking that I should use my egg dyes for fabric.

    I wouldn’t seal the eggs unless you blow out the insides before dying them… just because if you do plan on eating them, you wouldn’t want the fumes/chemicals from a sealer in your food. If you want the shine and the taste, try olive oil to gloss them up!

    Let me know how yours turn out! :) Thanks for reading & commenting!

    Reply
    • Eliza Linley says

      March 23, 2014 at 9:58 pm

      These are so beautiful! I’m thinking a little random gold leaf on some of those might be nice. The oil will make it adhere. Thank you! Will try with this year’s eggs.

      Reply
  3. Christi Lynn says

    March 15, 2012 at 2:07 pm

    How cool!!! gosh those are awesome.

    Reply
  4. Devon from Miss Make says

    March 15, 2012 at 3:21 pm

    this is awesome!!!

    Reply
  5. radmegan says

    March 15, 2012 at 5:11 pm

    Thank you Christi and Devon!!

    xoxox

    Reply
  6. cheryl says

    March 15, 2012 at 7:49 pm

    Wow, gorgeous! Who knew cabbage leaves could do that?! Thanks so much!

    Reply
  7. radmegan says

    March 15, 2012 at 8:10 pm

    I know! We should dye some yarn or riving next! :)
    xoxo

    Reply
  8. Sonya Kanelstrand says

    March 17, 2012 at 2:54 pm

    Wow! Thank you for that effort! I have been looking for a way to dye my eggs naturally this year and I am so happy to have found your post! Would you mind if I present it to my readers, hoping to inspire them to do the same? Amazing!

    Reply
    • Sonya says

      March 18, 2012 at 3:37 pm

      Hi Sonya, its Sonya

      teehee (thats so jouvenile!)

      Reply
  9. radmegan says

    March 17, 2012 at 3:09 pm

    Thank you so much Sonya! Sure- please do share the info. If you could link to this blog, that would be very nice of you :) I’m happy to share “green” ideas with new friends :)

    Thank you for the nice comment!!
    xo
    Megan

    Reply
    • Sonya Kanelstrand says

      March 17, 2012 at 3:28 pm

      Awesome! Thank you! In fact, I already sent you an email because I didn’t expect you to be here right now :) The magic of Internet!

      Reply
  10. Sonya says

    March 18, 2012 at 3:30 pm

    Aaaaawesome [Mr 7s favourite word this week!]

    Have email suscribed, followed and linked.

    Let the colouring begin ;D

    ~Sonya, in the Sago bindery~
    http://www.sagoontuesdays.com.au

    Reply
    • Sonya says

      March 18, 2012 at 3:36 pm

      oo – question – how long might you say you could keep using the solutions you made before it goes mucky? I tend to use my tea/coffee a few days in a row to get the most paper done as I can… and the colour intensifies with every passing day, with awesome sedimental effects too.

      S

      Reply
  11. radmegan says

    March 18, 2012 at 3:36 pm

    Thank you Sonya!! 😀

    Nice to meet you! :)

    Reply
  12. jene says

    March 18, 2012 at 3:36 pm

    These are beautiful! I definitely want to try it now

    Reply
    • radmegan says

      April 6, 2012 at 7:32 am

      Thanks Jane! I hope you do!!
      xoxo

      Reply
  13. Justine of SewCountryChick says

    March 22, 2012 at 9:11 pm

    This is so cool! I cant wait to try this with my girls! I will link to your tutorial for sure!

    Reply
  14. wrightmrsld says

    March 22, 2012 at 11:03 pm

    Oh my, will my 2 little grandsons get into doing this. (So will Grandma!) Thanks bunches!

    Reply
  15. Megan says

    March 23, 2012 at 6:27 am

    This is too cool! The colors of the eggs turned out beautiful!

    Reply
  16. A says

    March 28, 2012 at 5:00 pm

    These look lovely! Just out of curiosity, did the “flavor” of any of the dye ingredients soak through the shells and into the egg itself? After 10-20 hours of soaking, I could see that happening with some of these dyes.

    Reply
    • radmegan says

      April 6, 2012 at 7:34 am

      Great questions! We didn’t eat any of these because they were so darn lovely, HOWEVER, a long while ago, I made these Chinese Tea Eggs (similar natural dye process… and they were quite good! http://radmegan.blogspot.com/2010/08/cooking-at-home-chinese-tea-eggs.html

      Reply
  17. Bklyn Fig says

    March 31, 2012 at 11:48 am

    Hi,
    I saw this on the Drs. show and just happened upon your blog. Kudos!!
    i love all the colour and texture.

    I wonder if olive oil or another food grade oil would provide the shine and still be edible?

    Reply
    • radmegan says

      April 6, 2012 at 7:35 am

      Wow yay! I didn’t think anyone would find me since that segment was edited down so dramatically! Thank you for letting me know! 😀

      I would say that yes, coconut oil or olive oil would be great to use instead of mineral oil.

      xoxo

      Reply
  18. Gwen K says

    April 1, 2012 at 1:03 pm

    I just stumbled on your blog through Pinterest. These eggs are magnificent!

    Reply
    • radmegan says

      April 6, 2012 at 7:36 am

      Welcome! Thank you so much Gwen!

      xoxo

      Reply
  19. Unknown says

    April 5, 2012 at 7:28 pm

    I would avoid mineral oil, especially if doing this with kids. Rather you could use one or a combination or coconut / olive oil, with or without some beeswax. The three together are something I have on hand for furniture polish and hand balm!

    Reply
  20. Amanda says

    April 5, 2012 at 11:06 pm

    Beautiful eggs. :) If you use the dyes on fabric, though, be aware that natural dyes often don’t hold up as well to washing… use cold water and a gentle cycle, and don’t dry them in the sun. Turmeric in particular is not UV-stable and will fade rapidly when exposed to sunlight.

    Reply
  21. Timi says

    April 6, 2012 at 4:55 am

    Fantastic! Thx for sharing this, I will try some of them. :)

    Reply
  22. Brie says

    April 6, 2012 at 6:39 am

    The crystals on the wine-dyed egg are likely tartrate crystals aka wine diamonds. They show up in good wines, so maybe Trader Joe’s cheap wine is a good buy. Here’s more: http://winesworld.com/index.php/wine-crystals/68/

    Reply
    • radmegan says

      April 6, 2012 at 7:36 am

      Ha! Maybe “Two Buck Chuck” is a great deal! It sure makes lovely eggs! Thanks for the info!!

      xoxo

      Reply
  23. Anonymous says

    April 6, 2012 at 7:51 pm

    Wow! Amazing! Thank you so much for posting this and showing so many photos w/ the instructions! I like the Turmeric and the red cabbage ones especially!! I’m going to have to try this! Thanks again!

    Reply
  24. Lorna says

    April 7, 2012 at 2:32 pm

    Very informative. I do use grated fresh beets and get a nice deep pink. Waldo I prefer vegetable oil instead of mineral oil to polish them. We decorate with leaves and wrap in a piece of pantyhose. Awesome

    Reply
  25. Shaunna says

    April 8, 2012 at 5:20 pm

    Thanks so much for sharing this! We tried it with my boys for Easter (we had * just * enough time). While we didn’t get the textures that you did, they were certainly gorgeous colours! Did you leave the ingredients in the water when you put them in the jar? Also, we ate about half of ours, and they didn’t seem to be flavoured at all (we tried them straight, and as egg salad) – though some of them had colour.

    Reply
  26. iloveyoulord says

    April 10, 2012 at 10:21 pm

    RadMegan, your eggs are rad!

    Question: I want to blow out the insides so I’m planning on dying the eggs uncooked (then blow them out afterwards). Any reason you think this might not work as well with the dyes as when they are boiled with all the ingredients?

    Reply
  27. iloveyoulord says

    April 13, 2012 at 10:21 am

    Correction: I’ve blown out the eggs and am trying to figure out if I should put the empty shells in while the dyes boil (like you did when you hard boiled the eggs), or just afterwards in the jars? Will it still take? What do you think?

    Reply
    • Erin says

      March 30, 2015 at 2:18 pm

      I would like to know this as well! Thanks for posting!

      Reply
  28. dorie says

    May 16, 2012 at 11:36 pm

    such a wonderful colours you have achieved with them. I have died and printed gooseeggs some years ago. You can change colours with changing the pH and use ashwater. Or dye fabric and eggs in one time, using the egg as a resist for shibori. If you like I can send you some photo’s for your book :)))

    Reply
  29. dorie says

    May 16, 2012 at 11:37 pm

    such a wonderful colours you have achieved with them. I have died and printed gooseeggs some years ago. You can change colours with changing the pH and use ashwater. Or dye fabric and eggs in one time, using the egg as a resist for shibori. If you like I can send you some photo’s for your book :)))

    Reply
  30. Amelia says

    March 29, 2013 at 6:10 am

    fabulous idea, way too time consuming to be realistic in our household tho

    Reply
  31. June Cleaver says

    March 31, 2013 at 11:46 am

    I have found that blown out eggs float in the dye and don’t submerge….looking for a way to work.around this? Any suggestions?

    Reply
  32. Marilyn says

    April 1, 2014 at 11:30 am

    As a fiber junkie! Using all these dyes is great for, hemp, cotton. silk and wool. The different fibers will give you different hues. But but the fabric or yarn has to be natural and use is with vinegar. or it will not set

    Reply
  33. Cheryl Bialik says

    April 14, 2014 at 8:57 am

    What a fantastic updated way to dye eggs. I shared your link for others to view your many ideas for Easter egg dyin. I will be doing this with my kids, some in a shorter time and they will be scientifically learning how the time of soaking can affect the color of the eggs. Thank you!

    Reply
  34. ana says

    April 16, 2014 at 8:18 am

    Hello! The colours got out so beautiful, I want to try it to paint the Easter eggs! I’m curious about the quantity of water, how much is a cup of water you used? Also, if dill instead of dill seeds works for obtaining the yellow colour? Thanks!

    Reply
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  37. Linda Thornton says

    March 22, 2015 at 7:35 am

    I’m a little confused by the directions and very excited to try these natural dyes. Do you actually bowl the eggs in the solutions then tore them in the jars with the same solution? Or rather do you bowl the eggs as normal and then just store them in the solution. Can’t wait to try these dyes.

    Reply
    • Erin Patters says

      March 30, 2015 at 2:21 pm

      I was a bit confused as well, and would love some clarification, so tagging along with this post! :)

      Reply
  38. Suzanne says

    March 30, 2015 at 8:17 pm

    So are there any that would be good for kids (cuz Lord knows they aren’t going to want to do a 20hr waiting project lol)? & also does the boiled egg then taste like what you used?

    Reply
  39. Peggy says

    March 23, 2016 at 5:47 am

    The eggshell is made of calcium carbonate. When calcium carbonate is exposed to an acid (ie. wine, vinegar etc) it will form crystals called calcite.

    Reply
  40. aqQAknmjHVgYxQH says

    November 6, 2021 at 1:15 am

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  5. Egg-statically Easter! | Sandra's Garden says:
    March 21, 2016 at 9:38 pm

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