Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Why should the white eggs have all the fun at Easter??


We are big fans of The Country Hen brown eggs. Our favorite meal is breakfast and we love baked goods made with the fresh brown eggs.  After doing some research online, I believe they will also be the perfect Easter Egg choice as well. Their strong, brown shells should be perfect for coloring.

Dying Brown Eggs
Brown Eggs - Photo Credit: One Sunny Acre - Adventures in Micro Farming

If you are not looking for pastel colored Easter eggs, brown eggs will actually dye to a richer, more beautiful tone than white eggs. It does require using a different type of dye than the typical Easter egg coloring kit, but listed below are two very simple methods. One utilizes food coloring and the other is a natural dye method.



Peeling hard boiled farm fresh eggs is a bit more difficult; follow these instructions on how to boil them so they will peel more easily when you’re ready to turn your dyed eggs into egg salad…
   1.   Use the oldest eggs you can, 7-10 days if possible
   2.   Submerge eggs completely in a pot of cold salted water
   3.   Bring water to a boil, turn the heat down to medium low and set timer for 10 minutes    (or adjust according to preferences, this step is not as critical)
   4.   Remove from heat and drain hot water
   5.   Fill the pot with cold water and let sit until eggs are cooled down
   6.   When ready to eat, Peel eggs submerged in cool water
   7.   Random Tip: if you want more centered yolks for deviled eggs, turn your carton of eggs on its side a day or two before hard boiling them.
 
Dye using the Food Coloring Method:
1 cup hot water
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon of food coloring (you can adjust the amount to reach your desired shade)

Mix the 3 ingredients for each food coloring you want (red, blue, green, etc.) Don't forget about using your base colors to create other colors. For example, mix red and yellow for orange, red and blue for purple, or blue and green for teal, etc... Dip cool, hard boiled eggs into the food coloring dyes until the desired color is achieved. Let eggs dry on a rack or in an egg carton.


Dye using Natural Egg Dyes:
Dye Ingredients:
Blue - Red Cabbage Leaves
Orange - Paprika
Red - Lots of Red Onion Skins
Pink - Beets
Purple - Small amount of Red Onion Skins
Yellow - Saffron

Bring 1 cup of water and dye ingredients to a boil and then reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes to 1 hour until the desired color is obtained. Strain dye liquid and add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar. Dip cool, hard boiled eggs into hot liquid and let sit until desired color is achieved. Take eggs out of the dye and put on a rack or into an egg carton to dry. (Careful color can easily be removed until the egg is dry.) Eggs colored in this way have a dull finish, but when they are dry, use cooking oil to add a gloss to them.
Have Fun!

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10 comments:

  1. I love how deep and rich the colors are!

    <3 Christina at I Gotta Create!
    Wildly Original linky party is open

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  2. I have to try turning the eggs on the side trick because I'm forever making deviled eggs for husband and church parties.

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  3. love these eggs- so much more colorful than the usual pastels!

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  4. Good post, we always use brown eggs. Love the tip on centering yolk, thanks

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  5. While visiting friends last year the husband went out for eggs and brought home brown eggs. We all giggled at his "mistake". We dyed them the usual way with food coloring and they turned out gorgeous! I love using natural dyes too.
    Karee

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  6. I love this idea! The light pastels get pretty boring - love these richer colors!

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  7. We had an issue of the Colorado rubbing off on our fresh from the chicken eggs. Do you have any suggestions?

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  8. We had some issues with the dye rubbing off of our fresh eggs. Could that be because we used the Pass instead of a natural dye?

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    1. Hi Emily, I only used Food Coloring, I did not try it with Pass. Also I let them dry for a very long time before putting them away. I'm sorry you did not have the best results. Try the food coloring next year, I think you will get better results. Lori

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  9. Thank you for this information! It was just what I was looking for :).

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