Naturally Dyed Rainbow Eggs

With Easter around the corner it is once again time for an onslaught of colored and deviled eggs. When I think of dying eggs, I think of food coloring or other synthetic dyes. This year, to further encourage connection with the food you eat and supporting local, I decided to try my hand at coloring eggs with plant-based dyes I could make myself.

What I discovered was I had a great time learning which ingredients created which colors, and seeing how I could alter the results by mixing the dyes, letting the eggs soak for longer, and even changing the acidity of the dye.

This activity is a great science experiment for children and is a wonderful way to get them interacting with produce. Let’s be honest though, it’s fun for the adults too!

Colors

An interesting part of this process, is seeing the colors that each ingredient creates. With some, like turmeric, the color is exactly what you would expect, yellow. With others, red cabbage, the resulting color is a surprise, bright blue! Below is a quick run-down of the ingredients we used (plus a few others) and their resulting colors. You can always try something that you don’t find listed and see what the result is!

Beets - Red/pink

Turmeric - Yellow

Yellow Onion Skins - Orange/russet

Turmeric + Red Cabbage - Green

Red Cabbage - Bright Blue

Blueberries - Dark blue/navy

Beets + Red Cabbage - Purple

Red Onion Skins - Brown

Coffee Beans - Dark Brown

Now here’s a run down of the lovely vendors you can source from to create these wonderful eggs!

  • Wood Duck is an 87 acre farm, located in Cleveland, Texas. They have a thriving CSA program and have been providing healthy produce to the community for years. Wood Duck is actually in the process of fighting a proposed landfill in San Jacinto County, visit this website to learn more about how you can help!

  • Plant it Forward works with independent, professional farmers with refugee backgrounds to grow and distribute fresh produce throughout the community. At our market locations we work with farmer Materanya “Pierre” Ruchinagiza, who is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Each market he brings delicious vegetables and good conversation. He’s an amazing asset to the markets and his farming knowledge is invaluable!

  • Animal Farm is a working, sustainable permaculture center located 65 miles west of Houston. They are dedicated to producing high quality certified organic vegetables and flowers. They sell at our markets, but also have a wonderful CSA program!

  • Driftwood Meadows began their journey as a family committed to putting better food on their table, food that comes from animals raised on pasture without the use of hormones or antibiotics. Located in Centerville, Driftwood provides pasture raised pork, chicken, and eggs.

  • Erbe Ranch is a family owned farm located in Cat Spring, Texas raising grass-fed beef, pastured poultry and pastured pork. The property has been in Farmer Brian’s family for over one hundred thirty five years.

  • Regen Ranch is a woman owned and run ranch in Oakwood, Texas. With the goal of providing clean food, Christine sells grass fed beef & lamb, pasture raised turkey, and farm fresh eggs.

Share the love! If you do make this recipe, don’t forget to share photos and tag the vendors who provided the ingredients! One of the best ways to support these local, small businesses is by spreading the word and sharing your market finds with friends and family. And of course, if you stop by the Rice Village or Heights Mercantile markets striking up conversations with the vendors will always have you walking away with wonderful recipe ideas.

Ingredients

Local, pasture-raised eggs (can be white or brown, but white will show the color more)

Distilled white vinegar

1/2 head of red cabbage

Red onion skins of 3-4 onions

Yellow onion skins of 3-4 onion

2 large red beets

1-2 Tbsp turmeric powder

Keep in mind the more eggs you have to dye the more solution you’ll need to make.

Method

  1. To prepare, hard boil your eggs. It is nice to do this the night before to make things easier. Place your eggs in a pot and cover with an inch of water, bring to a boil then turn off the heat and cover the pot. Let the eggs sit for 10-12 minutes then immediately place them in a bowl of ice water.

  2. Cut up your chosen vegetables and add to a pot with and equal amount of water (for the turmeric a good rule of thumb is a cup per tsp).

  3. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 15 minutes (If you have limited space on your stove you may have to do this in batches).

  4. As your ingredients are simmering, set aside containers to hold each dye and put 1-2 tbsp of distilled white vinegar in each container.

  5. When your ingredients are done simmering, strain each into their own container (it helps to label each one, as some can look similar).

  6. You can mix the dye solutions as well to create different colors. For example mixing turmeric and red cabbage in about a 1:3 ratio will give you green.

  7. Place the eggs in the desired containers and place them in the refrigerator. Let them sit anywhere from a few hours to a few days. The longer the egg stays in the dye, the more saturated and vibrant the color will be. In this case the eggs were left in the dye for almost 24 hours.

  8. When you are ready to remove the eggs, place them on a cooling above some towels and let dry.

  9. Once the eggs have dried you can choose to gently rub the surface with olive oil to create a finishing shine.

  10. Enjoy your beautiful egg rainbow!

We hope to see you at the the 1st and 3rd Sunday at Rice Village Farmers Market or 2nd and 4th Sunday at Heights Mercantile Farmers Market. Both markets run from 9-1 pm, with Heights located at 714 Yale St. and Rice located at 2504 Amherst St. These markets operate rain or shine! We will have over 60 vendors, live music, and immaculate vibes.

Thank you for following along and supporting local!

xxCB