Natural Easter Eggs and Dyes

Well, eggs don't really need to be refrigerated when they are
not cooked. They can last weeks at room temperature. In Europe,
they don't put eggs in a cooler at the grocery store, they just
have them on shelves. Also, we have always coloured our eggs with
onion skins, but first we wrap rubber bands around them for
interesting lines and leaves from fresh spring growth for nice
patterns. If you use the leaves, you just take a length of old
nylon (from nylon tights) and place the egg with the leaves placed
against it, and tie it in there and cook with the onion skins as
usual.

Hi:) I have read about making dyes for eggs for awhile now. A
question for those of you who have tried it: does the flavors of
natural things used ever seep into the egg and cause it to have a
flavor? Thanks a bunch...liz

Hi E.Kline, I wrote the paragraph right above yours. The only
way the flavor can get into the egg is if it cracks while
cooking..then the dye can seep in. That can be a unique experience
sometimes! Not only will you get a hint of beet flavor, or other
food dye flavor...the cracks can add to the decoration! When you
boil the eggs in the food dyes, or just in plain water,sometimes
they crack while cooking. With eggs boiled in dye baths, those that
cracked during cooking will reveal a wonderful mottled design on
the egg inside, once the peeling has been removed. Also...I forgot
to mention that the eggs go into the dyes raw and are boiled in the
dye for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and cover the pot. Let the
eggs cool in the dye, then take them out and refrigerate.

I've used natural food dyes on my Easter eggs for years. Beets
are a wonderful dye and you end up with a really pretty pink
egg..let the eggs soak in the beet juice for a couple hours and
you'll get a gorgeous fuschia color. Spinach leaves work great for
a nice grass green color, turmeric gives them a beautiful golden
yellow, strong coffee on a brown egg makes them look like milk
choolate eggs...perfect for those brown eggs. I've found that the
trick is to either wipe or give the eggs a quick dunk in vinegar
before dying them...it helps the egg to absorb the color and
they'll have deeper prettier colors. Also, letting them soak at
least a couple hours...even overnight in the frig, will produce
more vibrant colors.

My mother and her mother used to color eggs for Easter by
boiling them in water with dry skins from yellow onions. It makes
them turn a rich reddish brown shade. They would then polish them
while still warm in a dish cloth with a small amount of shortening
on it. They also of course would leave the eggs out in a bowl all
week long too at room temperature. To my knowledge no one ever got
sick, but it's not a risk I'm willing to take these days.