Spending a few hours dyeing Easter eggs can be a fun and rewarding way for families to celebrate the holiday together. Fortunately, you don’t have to be Faberge to create a beautiful assortment of eggs. Now, you can easily make colorful eggs that will have friends and family taking second glances.
Getting Ready
Decorated eggs may be hard-cooked or blown out of their shells. If eggs are to be dyed, washing in a mild detergent solution helps to remove the oil coating so that the color adheres more evenly. Washing does not affect future eating quality.
You may want to use commercial egg dyes or food coloring or experiment with colors from nature.
Hard Cooked Eggs
Hard–cooked eggs are a bit more sturdy for children to work with.
Place eggs in a single layer in saucepan. Add enough water to cover by at least one inch. Cover pan and quickly bring just to a boil. Remove from the burner and let stand, covered, about 15 minutes for large eggs (adjust time up or down by about three minutes for each size larger or smaller). Take the lid off, pour off the hot water and run eggs under cold water (or place them in ice water) until completely cooled. If you won’t be coloring your eggs right after cooking them, store them in the refrigerator in their cartons.
Blown Eggs
Blown eggs are best if you’re making an egg tree or want to keep the eggs on display for a considerable time.
It’s easy to blow an egg out of the shell. First, wash and dry the egg. Then make a small hole in the small end of the egg by pricking 2 or three times with a darning or regular needle. (It’s best to sterilize the needle if you want to use the insides of the egg later.)
Prick the large end 3 or 4 times, making a larger hole than in the small end. Stick the needle down inside the egg and move it around the inside to make sure that both membranes and the yolk are broken.
Blow from the small end to the large end, letting the contents flow into a cup or bowl. If the egg doesn’t flow out, move the needle inside of the shell again to be sure the membranes are broken. Shaking the egg may help, too.
Rinse the shell in cold water and let it dry. Be careful when decorating empty shells – they’re quite fragile.
Keep track of the number of eggs you blow in order to use them later in fully cooked dishes.
Color my world: Combine a half-cup of boiling water, one teaspoon of vinegar and the specified number of drops of food color to achieve desired colors. Here are some fantastic color suggestions:
• Lime -- 24 yellow, 4 green
• Purple -- 5 blue, 5 red
• Cantaloupe -- 24 yellow, 2 red
• Jade -- 17 green, 3 blue
• Plum -- 10 red, 4 blue
• Raspberry -- 14 red, 6 blue
• Watermelon -- 25 red, 2 blue
• Teal -- 15 green, 5 blue
• Fuchsia -- 18 red, 2 blue
• Spearmint -- 12 green, 6 yellow, 2 blue
• Maize -- 24 yellow, 1 red
• Grape -- 17 blue, 3 red
• Orange Sunset -- 17 yellow, 3 red
• Jungle Green -- 14 green, 6 yellow
Dip hard-cooked eggs in dye for about five minutes. For variety, try dipping the top half in one color and the bottom half in another. Use a slotted spoon or tongs to add and/or remove eggs from dye.
Painting eggs: In a small glass container, combine 10 drops food coloring, 1/2 teaspoon water and 1/2 teaspoon of vinegar. Paint hard-cooked eggs with a paintbrush or cotton swab. Try stripes, polka dots, zigzags or original drawings.
Pastel marbled eggs: In a shallow bowl, combine 1/4 cup boiling water, one teaspoon vinegar, 1/8 teaspoon oil and four to eight drops food color. Gently roll each egg in the mixture for 30 seconds, or until the egg is the desired shade. Transfer egg to a second color mixture and repeat the process. Allow the egg to dry completely and wipe away excess oil with a paper towel.
Food Safety: Remember to wash your hands thoroughly after handling the eggs during cooking, cooling, dyeing and hiding. Don’t color or hide cracked eggs and don’t eat eggs that have been out of the refrigerator for more than two hours.
Cleanup: For quick and easy cleanup, use soap and water repeatedly to remove food color from hands and most kitchen countertops. If needed, use all-purpose cleaner with bleach for countertops.
Artwork is for display purposes only and does not necessarily reflect specific items. Not responsible for typographical errors.
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