Coloring Easter Eggs Blue with Natural Egg Dyes

Use Natural Ingredients like Red Cabbage to Dye Eggs Purple and Blue

© Stephanie Jolly

Feb 26, 2009

Dyeing Easter eggs without food coloring is easy with the right materials. Natural plant pigments found in red cabbage and red wine change color when boiled and exposed to the outer shell of a hard-boiled egg, resulting in brilliant shades of blue, teal and purple.

How to Naturally Color Easter Eggs Blue and Teal Using Red Cabbage

Necessary equipment:

• deep pot
• 1 cup shredded or chopped red cabbage
• 8-10 cups water
• 2 Tbsp vinegar
• white eggs
• ice bath
• 2 metal or glass bowls
• red cabbage leaves (optional)
• rubber bands (optional)

Directions:

1. Fill a deep pot with red cabbage and enough water to completely submerge Easter eggs.
2. Bring water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Water will turn a purple-magenta hue.
3. Add eggs to the colored water. Bring heat up to gentle boil for 10-12 minutes, depending on the desired cooked consistency of the egg yolk.
4. Immediately remove eggs and dip briefly into ice bath to stop the cooking process. Set aside.
5. Remove dyed liquid from heat and cool to room temperature. Divided evenly into two separate metal or glass bowls. Stir vinegar into one half of the cabbage juice.
6. Divide eggs between the two bowls of colored water and refrigerate overnight until desired color intensity is achieved.

The vinegar will temporarily turn the liquid magenta color but will gradually become violet or purple. For a mottled or marbled look, wrap a hard boiled egg in a raw leaf of red cabbage, securing with rubber bands, before placing the dye bath overnight.

Dyeing Easter Eggs Purple Using Red Wine Instead of Food Coloring

Necessary equipment:

• deep pot
• 2-3 cups red wine
• white eggs
• ice bath

Directions:

1. Fill a small pot with enough red wine to completely submerge Easter eggs.
2. Bring wine to a boil and add eggs. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes.
3. Immediately remove eggs and dip briefly into ice bath to stop the cooking process. Eggs should be turning a pale mauve.
4. If deeper pigment is required, remove wine from heat and cool to room temperature. Return eggs to the the cooled wine and soak until desired color intensity is achieved. Move to the refrigerator if eggs are to eventually be consumed.

Red wine which has been oxidized or has begun to turn to vinegar is perfect for dying eggs as the extra acidity, although unpleasant to drink, helps allow the dye to penetrate.

Vegetable Dyed Easter Eggs is a Fun Kitchen Science Experiment

Coloring Easter eggs the natural way turns a fun family tradition into a kitchen science experiment with using vegetable dyes. Even though the natural plant pigments of cabbage and red wine are initially deep red and purple, they change color when exposed to heat and acid, meaning that naturally dyed Easter eggs do not necessarily turn the color one might expect. School age children can keep a "lab notebook" charting the initial color of the vegetable coloring agent, the anticipated result and the final color of the egg.

Easter eggs can also be dyed red with vegetable pigments and well as colored yellow with spices.

Teal Easter Eggs Dyed with Red Cabbage

Purple Easter Eggs Colored with Red Wine

Coloring Easter Eggs Blue with Red Cabbage

Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs Using Vegetable Dye

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