We made these last year and we are planning on making them again, trying even more colors!
It's part of my war against artificial colors in food. And yes, I know that (hopefully) nobody will eat the egg shells, but it's another opportunity to back to basis and find natural colors from vegetables.
I was originally inspired to make those with the help of this awesome post, by The Boulder Locavore. Then As we started experimenting, lots of teas and spices came out of the cupboard and were tried. Here are our favorites:
Naturally Colored Boiled Eggs
Eggs
Water enough to cover them
2 tablespoons Paprika
2 cups spinach
1 tablespoon sage
1/4 red cabbage
2 medium beets
Use your favorite recipe for boiling the eggs. I love Julia Child's one. It always works and I never have that grayish rind on the yolks. Let the eggs cool. Here's a guideline of our favorite dyes:
Orange _ Boil paprika in 2 cups of water, when cold enough to the touch add 2 tablespoons white vinegar. To achieve a deep color you can soak the egg overnight. We found that 20 minutes is a good timing for a smooth orange.
Blue _ Ours were not that deep blue. Cooked red cabbage for 40 minutes in two cups of water. It cooled down and I added 2 spoons of vinegar, which changed the color of water from blue to purple. Yet, the egg still came in a very soft shade of blue, soaked overnight, in the fridge.
Pink _ Beetroot works on the egg faster than cabbage. It may take from 1 hour to overnight to achieve the desired shade. Beets were simmered for about 30 minutes. The same was followed: one tablespoon of vinegar for each cup of the colored water.
Yellow - A very light shade of yellow can be achieved by dipping the egg in infused in 1 tablespoon dry sage. I didn't use the vinegar for this one and the color stayed. The other shade came from infused dill. I will test with saffron soon.
Purple/Lilac - The egg was left in grape juice for 2 hours. I will test it again soon. One of the boys could not wait and immersed the egg on the paprika color.
2 cups spinach
1 tablespoon sage
1/4 red cabbage
2 medium beets
Use your favorite recipe for boiling the eggs. I love Julia Child's one. It always works and I never have that grayish rind on the yolks. Let the eggs cool. Here's a guideline of our favorite dyes:
Orange _ Boil paprika in 2 cups of water, when cold enough to the touch add 2 tablespoons white vinegar. To achieve a deep color you can soak the egg overnight. We found that 20 minutes is a good timing for a smooth orange.
Blue _ Ours were not that deep blue. Cooked red cabbage for 40 minutes in two cups of water. It cooled down and I added 2 spoons of vinegar, which changed the color of water from blue to purple. Yet, the egg still came in a very soft shade of blue, soaked overnight, in the fridge.
Pink _ Beetroot works on the egg faster than cabbage. It may take from 1 hour to overnight to achieve the desired shade. Beets were simmered for about 30 minutes. The same was followed: one tablespoon of vinegar for each cup of the colored water.
Yellow - A very light shade of yellow can be achieved by dipping the egg in infused in 1 tablespoon dry sage. I didn't use the vinegar for this one and the color stayed. The other shade came from infused dill. I will test with saffron soon.
Purple/Lilac - The egg was left in grape juice for 2 hours. I will test it again soon. One of the boys could not wait and immersed the egg on the paprika color.
Thank you! Colored eggs look amazing and are a great idea for a brunch!
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