Food to Dye With

This year, when it’s time to dye Easter eggs, set out pans of boiling water and fill them with food. If you use spinach, beets, paprika or onions, you’ll end up with natural colors that will give the eggs softer, more subtle colors than those you get from commercial dyes.

“The longer you let the material boil or sit in the water, the more color comes out into the water,” says Jean Dougherty, environmental educator at the Pratt Center in New Milford, Conn. Dougherty uses spinach leaves for a pale green color, yellow onion skins for a golden hue and beets for a pale-pink tint.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to coloring Easter eggs the natural way.

Materials and Equipment

You’ll need: eggs; food-staining vegetables, spices or plants for dying and making imprints; pots, water and spoons; nylon stockings or cheesecloth cut into five- to six-inch lengths; rubber bands or twist ties; alum (found in supermarket spice racks) or white vinegar to set color; salad oil, and paper towels or soft cloths to buff eggs when dry.

Color Suggestions

* Red onion skins: pale blue.

* Yellow onion skins: yellow to golden hue.

* Saffron or turmeric: bright yellow.

* Red cabbage: shades of blue.

* Beets: pale pink.

* Spinach leaves: pale green.

* Coffee (instant or grounds) or walnut hulls: deep brown.

* Paprika: rusty brown.

* Frozen blueberries: pale gray-blue.

Method

1. Prepare eggs by cleaning carefully with a solution of one tablespoon white vinegar to one cup water. This removes spots or film used to retard spoilage.

2. Cut up vegetables or prepare spices used for dying. Place several cups of vegetables or teaspoons of spices in their own enamel or glass pots and cover with at least three inches of water. Add one teaspoon of alum or white vinegar to each to set the dye. Boil for at least one hour to extract color. For more intense colors, use more vegetables or spices and boil longer.

3. Prepare designs on eggs by placing ferns, clovers, flowers or pine needles on the surface of the egg. Attach by wrapping eggs in cut-up nylon stockings or cheesecloth, secured at either end by twist ties or rubber bands. The twist ties will leave little star imprints.

4. Place unboiled eggs in dye pots; boil for at least 20 minutes, turning often to prevent spotting. (If using eggs that have been blown out, place a vegetable steamer above to keep them from floating to the surface.)

5. Remove eggs and allow to dry, again turning often to prevent spotting. When dry, remove netting and plant materials and lightly buff with soft cloth or paper towel soaked in salad oil.

6. Refrigerate until ready to use.