Easter is one of my favorite holidays, and I’d been wanting to try using natural egg dye to color my eggs. However, I didn’t plan far enough in advance to get to the store, so I used what I had on hand. There are few recommendations online, of course I didn’t have most of the recommended spices on hand. Tarragon, chili pepper and mustard were what I had at home, so that’s what I went with. I was aiming for a nice olive green, a rust orange, and mustard yellow. I also only had apple cider vinegar in my pantry, and I believe you’re supposed to use plain/white, distilled vinegar. However, I went ahead and used apple cider vinegar.
Instructions:
- Hard boil your eggs. Place your eggs in a pot of water. When they come to a full boil, turn off the heat and cover. Let them sit for 12 minutes. Refrigerate your eggs, if it’s going to be awhile before you color them.
- Meanwhile, boil about 2-3T of each individual spice in a 1 qt. pot of water. I was only coloring a few eggs, so that was plenty for me. I have no kids at home, and only do this for my artistic enjoyment.
- While my spices were boiling, I poured 1 tablespoon of the apple cider vinegar into individual bowls.
- As each pot and spice came to a boil, I removed them from the heat, and poured them into their bowls with the vinegar, and stirred.
- Place eggs in the bowls.
- Refrigerate overnight.
The chili pepper and tarragon worked well, and I liked the colors. I would use larger bowls next time, to make sure the eggs were fully covered. The mustard didn’t adhere to the egg shell. I noticed when I added the vinegar that it didn’t seem to mix with the vinegar, and water.
More on Mustard:
As a flower, foodie, I find this fascinating and geek out on it. Vinegar is in mustard, so I don’t believe that was the determining factor. If you’re familiar with mustard seed, you may know it has a bio energy field around it that repels weeds, and was known in ancient days for its healing properties. Perhaps it is the egg shell. If so, could it help people with egg allergies then?
It obviously mixes with mustard and the inside of eggs because of all the famous salads we eat that have mustard and eggs. Anyway, don’t try mustard to color your eggs. Turmeric would be better. I will have to further research my egg and mustard seed theories. With spring here, I’m anxious to try natural flower petal dyes as well. My dad and I are doing a little planting together this year, so who knows what we’ll come up with!
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