How to dye eggs naturally

The Gemperle family, a major egg producer in Turlock, shared its recipe for naturally dyed Easter eggs.

INGREDIENTS

▪ Hard-boiled eggs

▪ 5 cups water

▪ 8 cups loosely packed onion skins (yellow onion skins give an orange hue, while red onion skins lend a reddish-brown hue)

▪ 4 tablespoons vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS

▪ Fill a medium-sized saucepan with 5 cups of water and put over medium-high heat.

▪ Add the onion skins and simmer covered for 15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes.

▪ Strain the liquid into a medium-size bowl.

▪ Add the vinegar to the onion skin water.

▪ Let cool to room temperature.

▪ Add hard-boiled eggs to the onion skin water. Remember that the longer you leave the egg in the solution, the darker it becomes.

▪ Thirty minutes works best for most colors. They will deepen the longer the eggs soak in the natural dye solution. If you plan to leave your eggs in the solution longer, place them in the refrigerator.

OTHER COLORS

Following the directions above, replace onion skins with some of these all-natural ingredients to create different dyes:

▪ Yellow: 6 tablespoons of fresh grated turmeric root

▪ Blue: 6 cups of chopped purple cabbage

▪ Pink and red: 4 cups of chopped beets

▪ Golden brown: 6 tablespoons of loose black tea or Earl Grey tea

ADDING DESIGNS

To create special designs on the eggs, use a simple technique with cheesecloth, leaves, blossoms and grasses collected from the garden and flat leaf Italian parsley. You will need:

▪ Cheesecloth or pantyhose

▪ Twist ties or rubber bands

▪ Variety of natural materials, including plants, leaves and flowers

▪ Hard-boiled eggs

1. Cut a piece of pantyhose or cheesecloth and put a twist tie on one end.

2. Put a hard-boiled egg in the tied section of cloth and place a mixture of leaves and flowers flat on the egg.

3. Close the other end of the cloth with the twist tie.

4. Place the egg in the prepared dye for about 30 minutes or longer, depending on desired color.

This story was originally published April 1, 2015 at 2:23 PM with the headline "How to dye eggs naturally."