Egg Me On

Tips for fun egg coloring and safe egg hunting

Be sure to wash your hands (and any small hands involved) before handling eggs.

Use food-grade egg dyes, or try natural dyes from beets (pink), turmeric or boiled onion skins (yellow), and boiled red cabbage leaves (blue). Natural dyes work beautifully with organic brown eggs, creating rich, muted colors.

Here’s how:

• Boil a few cut beets in a small pot of water till tender and the cooking liquid turns a deep pink. Pour liquid into a small bowl, and save the beets for a snack.
• Repeat with a few red cabbage leaves. Cover leaves with 1 cup water, bring to a boil till the cooking liquid turns a deep blue. Pour liquid into a bowl.
• Mix 1 heaping tablespoon of turmeric with ½ cup water in a measuring cup. Stir to blend.
• Boil eggs; remove from hot water and cool slightly. Rub shells with white vinegar to help the shell take up the dye.
• Place eggs in bowls with dye; let sit for several minutes – longer for deeper color penetration. Blot eggs dry with a paper towel and arrange on a festive plate.

Refrigerate hard-cooked eggs after coloring them. The USDA advises discarding any cooked eggs that have been held at room temperature for more than two hours.