Naturally Dyed Eggs

Image by Sprengben [why not get a friend] via Flickr

I found this great recipe on how to dye eggs without using food coloring (aka petroleum based color). You can also use this as a science lesson. How does the vinegar help? What color do you think this ingredient will make? What happens if you mix 2 ingredients? Why does the color not stick where you put the stickers and rubberbands? What would happen if you draw on a white egg with a white crayon first? Are there other ingredients you can use to make colors? Do they work better or not as well as the ones listed below?

Enjoy!

"This year, try going au naturale using this fantastic recipe from Michelle Stern of What’s Cooking with Kids:

Ingredients
* 1 dozen hard boiled white eggs
* White vinegar
* Water
* Colorful ingredients (described below)
* Stickers and rubber bands to make patterns on the egg

Instructions
1. Hard boil 1 dozen eggs and allow them to cool in the refrigerator.

2. Decide how many colors you want to make and take out the appropriate number of pots.

3. To each pot, add: 1 quart of water and 2 tablespoons white vinegar

4. Add the following ingredients to each pot:

* Red: 2 cups Cranberry juice and 8 cups red onion peels (Your grocer will gladly give you their discarded peels.)
* Red-Orange: 3-4 tablespoons chili powder
* Mahogany: 10-12 cups brown onion skins (Your grocer will gladly give you their discarded peels.)
* Yellow: 3-4 tablespoons tumeric
* Blue: ½—¾ head chopped red cabbage

5. Bring each of the pots to a boil. Reduce the heat and allow them to simmer for 30 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, prepare your eggs by wrapping them in rubber bands or putting on stickers (which will leave behind white stripes or patterns).

7. Pour the dyes through a strainer and return them to the pot or a clean bowl.

8. Gently lower some of the hard boiled eggs into each of the hot dyes.

9. The color will deepen the longer they stay in the dye, but an hour should do the trick. If you wish to keep them submerged for longer, you should pour the dyes into containers that fit into your refrigerator, and let the eggs soak in there.

10. When you are satisfied with the color saturation on the eggs, remove them from the liquid and dry them.

11. Take off the rubber bands and stickers and enjoy!

Read the whole article here.