This year we thought it would be a fun experiment to make our own dye for our Easter eggs. This way we know what is in the dye and we can actually eat the eggs afterwards.
I just used what we had around the house. I purposely didn't make a special trip to the grocery to get anything.
In the picture above, from left to right we have.... spinach, day old coffee, strawberries, blueberries, curry powder and another spinach, and below there is also a measuring cup with Zinger tea.
I did everything in the microwave using a 2 cup pyrex measuring cup, to keep the mess and dishes to a minimum. I chopped the spinach and nuked it in 2 minute intervals and mashed it. I did the same with the strawberries. The blueberries were the frozen variety. I just mixed the curry with hot water and then ran it through a paper coffee filter. Finally, I added two tablespoons of vinegar, in case it was not acidic enough on its own. (of note, the blueberry and curry dye will also stain your counter top...)
The first thing we realized is that the eggs needed to soak for a long time. Not a minute or two like the good old Paas dye from childhood days gone by. And by a long time I mean at least an hour.
The overall effect was really pretty neat, but the 5 year old lost interest pretty quickly. All in all, it was a success, but not all the much fun for the youngster and isn't that the whole reason you colour eggs to begin with... (...but, I had fun and we got egg salad sandwiches and deviled eggs out of it.)
