Nature is waking up with the colors of spring, and our spice cabinets possess more artful opportunities than we realized! This year, some of our staff took a break at the picnic tables on our campus to explore what sort of colors we might be able to create using readily available dried herbs and spices. It was an experimental adventure. Some colors were subtle, others were a surprise, and there were a few that just didn't quite turn out.
We came away with some gorgeous eggs though, confident in the natural ingredients and the fact that we wouldn’t be eating (or dipping our hands in) anything toxic or dumping icky-soaked shells into the compost. We also came away with some inspired ideas for tons more herbs and spices to try!
Ingredients
Directions
First, we hard-boiled the eggs. While they were cooking, we brought another big pot of water to boil, and filled the mason jars with herbs and vinegar. Then, we used kitchen tongs to dunk the eggs in their bath. For the dozen eggs pictured here, we used our organic paprika powder, organic turmeric powder, and organic spinach powder to create a blend of sweet spring pastels!
The longer you leave the eggs in the dye bath, the darker they will be. Of course, this will all depend on your patience! We only had about 30 minutes to play, but just imagine if you left them in the bath in the fridge overnight ... you could get some nice, deep colors! You could also boil and simmer the eggs in a hot dye bath on the stove if you wanted to do several eggs of one hue, and this would likely make for richer colors. If coloring eggs with young children, however, you might want to have some other fun activities to do while you wait for the eggs to darken.
A spirit of adventure is a must—this isn’t a quick dip and dye project with synthetic processed dyes, but more of an opportunity to test and try the tints that the natural world has to offer. Enjoy the smells in your kitchen, the amazing colors, and the gorgeously subtle and surprising basket of eggs on your festive table. Try the follow herbs and spices for a rainbow of hues!
Topics: Recipes, Green Living
Over the last three decades, the Mountain Rose Herbs Team has created and recreated thousands of recipes. This article is the result of many of our staff's combined herbal expertise and passion for herbalism. We hope you enjoy these time-tested recipes.
Nature is waking up with the colors of spring, and our spice cabinets possess more artful opportunities than we realized! This year, some of our staff took a break at the picnic tables on our campus to explore what sort of colors we might be able to create using readily available dried herbs and spices. It was an experimental adventure. Some colors were subtle, others were a surprise, and there were a few that just didn't quite turn out.
We came away with some gorgeous eggs though, confident in the natural ingredients and the fact that we wouldn’t be eating (or dipping our hands in) anything toxic or dumping icky-soaked shells into the compost. We also came away with some inspired ideas for tons more herbs and spices to try!
Ingredients
Directions
First, we hard-boiled the eggs. While they were cooking, we brought another big pot of water to boil, and filled the mason jars with herbs and vinegar. Then, we used kitchen tongs to dunk the eggs in their bath. For the dozen eggs pictured here, we used our organic paprika powder, organic turmeric powder, and organic spinach powder to create a blend of sweet spring pastels!
The longer you leave the eggs in the dye bath, the darker they will be. Of course, this will all depend on your patience! We only had about 30 minutes to play, but just imagine if you left them in the bath in the fridge overnight ... you could get some nice, deep colors! You could also boil and simmer the eggs in a hot dye bath on the stove if you wanted to do several eggs of one hue, and this would likely make for richer colors. If coloring eggs with young children, however, you might want to have some other fun activities to do while you wait for the eggs to darken.
A spirit of adventure is a must—this isn’t a quick dip and dye project with synthetic processed dyes, but more of an opportunity to test and try the tints that the natural world has to offer. Enjoy the smells in your kitchen, the amazing colors, and the gorgeously subtle and surprising basket of eggs on your festive table. Try the follow herbs and spices for a rainbow of hues!
Topics: Recipes, Green Living
Over the last three decades, the Mountain Rose Herbs Team has created and recreated thousands of recipes. This article is the result of many of our staff's combined herbal expertise and passion for herbalism. We hope you enjoy these time-tested recipes.
