Colored Easter eggs have wandered in many directions from their historical origins: Dyeing them red in remembrance of Christ's blood. Just take a look at Martha Stewart Living's current feature on whimsical Easter egg designs, or ask most kids, who will tell you they dye eggs to make them look like jelly beans.

I prefer the less design-y and more rustic approach. After all, they're eggs you might be stashing somewhere in the lawn. Also, with a toddler in tow, a project like this at our house isn't likely to involve X-acto knives and electrical tape. Easter is a reminder of fertility and abundance so I say turn on the color and let loose.

Last year I wrote about dyeing eggs with onion skins, which gives a pretty spectacular result, especially if you rub them with oil to add shine. This year I took the idea of coloring eggs with vegetable scraps a step further and created a larger palette.

How To Make Vegetable-Dyed Eggs

Keep in mind the effect of the dyes varies depending on how concentrated the dye is, what color egg you use, and how long the eggs are immersed in the dye. I used half a purple cabbage, shredded, to dye four eggs. Err on the side of more rather than less when creating your dye.

Hard Boiled Eggs, room temperature, or white and brown eggs, preferably not super-fresh
Purple Cabbage (makes blue on white eggs, green on brown eggs)
Red Onion Skins (makes lavender or red)
Yellow Onion Skins (makes orange on white eggs, rusty red on brown eggs)
Ground Turmeric (makes yellow)
Red Zinger Tea Bags (makes lavender)
Beets (makes pink on white eggs, maroon on brown eggs)
Oil (canola or olive)

Clean the eggs so there are no particles sticking to their shells.

To prepare a colored dye, first chop the cabbage, chip or peel away the dry skins from the onions, or shred the beets. In a stainless steel saucepan, boil enough water to generously cover the number of eggs you'll be dyeing. Add the dye matter and bring to a boil, turn heat down to low and simmer, covered, for 15-30 minutes. Dye is ready when it reaches a hue a few shades darker than you want for your egg. Examine a sample in a white dish. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature (I put the pot on my fire escape and it cooled off in about 20 minutes).

Pour mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into another stainless saucepan, or into a bowl then back into the original pan if that's all you have. Stir in the vinegar. For the dyeing, it's best to use a pan with a flat bottom, like a Dutch oven, or a large jar as pictured above. Arrange the room-temperature eggs in the pan in one layer and carefully pour the cooled dye over them.

Place in refrigerator until desired color is reached. Massage in a little oil to each, then polish with a paper towel. Keep in refrigerator until time to eat (or hide.)

Note: You can also start with raw eggs and cook them in the dye bath as described in the previous post about onion-skin eggs. I found with dyes like the Zinger tea and beets, the color was more concentrated with the refrigerator method. Of course, this method requires clearing out some space in the refrigerator.

Related: Spring Treat: How To Make Golden Chocolate Easter Eggs

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