Easy Cheap Really Good Easter Egg Dye

[Linstrum]

One Easter back thirty-something years ago when I was still doing Easter eggs for kids, the stores ran out of dye kits. I couldn't let the kids down, so I bought a bunch of different flavors of unsweetened Kool-Aid instead and I have never looked back.

To speed things up, mix 2 envelopes of the same color unsweetened Kool-Aid in one or two cups warm water and then pour into a gallon-size ziploc plastic bag with the eggs to be dyed in it instead of dunking them one or two at a time in a bowl. Pull them out and let them dry off. That's it. The eggs are still quite edible, unless of course the kids don't find them and they end up sitting out in the weeds under a hot sun all day, especially with a cracked shell.

Blue Moon Berry or Green Kiwi-Lime flavored hard boiled eggs are a bit of an unusual treat for adults, but kids love the idea of the flavors the Kool-Aid imparts right through the shell. Gives new meaning to "Green Eggs and Ham".

Have fun!

[ron brooks]

You can also just use good old food colorin, that is really what the egg dye is, just in tablet form.

Ron

[Bret4207]

Oh crap!!! Is it Easter already?!?! I hate doing Easter eggs. But, with a 3+5 year old, I might as well gird me loins.

[buck1]

TIP: Every year change the style of coloring...........Just in case .

[Ricochet]

Hey, the Chinese eat hundred year old eggs. Pickled in horse urine.

I'd rather have mine in Kool-Aid, and fairly fresh.

[copilot001]

Hey, the Chinese eat hundred year old eggs. Pickled in horse urine.

I'd rather have mine in Kool-Aid, and fairly fresh.
I just barfed

[Springfield]

I have a 3 and 5 year old too, and the 5 year old has been buggin' me all week to do eggs. keep telling her Saturday, I don't want them to go bad. The Kool Aid is a good idea, may even get them to eat an egg.

[Linstrum]

Hey there guys, how ya doin?

One thing about Kool-Aid that is different from using straight food coloring is that the drink mix contains citric acid, which is necessary to get the dye to "take" to the egg shell. The food color will work to color egg shells without the acid but it won't be bright. The commercial Easter egg dye tablets also have the citric (or fumaric or adipic acids) added and they work great, but they are a bit on the expensive side as I recall and they sure don't have the interesting flavors of the drink mix.

If you end up using regular food coloring, just add some vinegar to the dye, I'd guess about a 1/4 cup vinegar in 3/4 cup of water would do it.

My Grandma used to do the Easter eggs with food coloring when I was about 4 or 5 and I just HATED the rotten smell of the apple cider vinegar she used. Not exactly horse urine, but I would not get anywhere near the eggs later!

Have fun!

[waksupi]

Linstrum, does that mean, you don't like pickled eggs? We always have a gallon jug of them at work, with some little onions, garlic, peppers, pickling spices, along with the cider vinegar.

[45 2.1]

Linstrum, does that mean, you don't like pickled eggs? We always have a gallon jug of them at work, with some little onions, garlic, peppers, pickling spices, along with the cider vinegar.


Come on Ric, give us the proportions. Sounds right fine.

[BABore]

I use 50/50 white vinegar and water, about a quart each. Add a handfull of pickling spices, 3-4 cloves chopped garlic, 2 cups sliced onions, 1/4-1/2 cup brown sugar and then the best part. A quart of pickled jalapeno's, juice and all. Heat it all up in a stockpot to blend. When cool, throw in a couple dozen hardboiled, peeled eggs, jar it up and wait a couple of weeks. I keep mine in the fridge. Same recipe works good for pickled hearts and tongue.

To keep this sort of on topic, you can throw in some green food coloring.

[ktw]

We also keep a big jar of pickled eggs here at the office. We use a traditional Yooper (B&B Bar) recipe.

4 cups vinegar
1 jar/can jalapenos
1 onion
1 cup water
1 Tbl spoon Tabasco
1 Tbl spoon salt

-ktw

[Ricochet]

You need pickled beets in the pickled egg jar. Turns 'em a pretty maroon color. Actually, beets and vinegar alone will pickle 'em just fine.

[waksupi]

Bob, ain't you sorry you asked, now?

Any of the above, and more. You are only limited by your imagination.

I'll also toss in baby carrots, califlower, broccoli, asparagas, what ever is in season.

[ktw]

You need pickled beets in the pickled egg jar.

"I don't want a pickle
Just want to ride on my motorsickle" -arlo guthrie

My youngest daughter uses that line anytime anyone offers her a pickle. One of the more useful things I've suceeded in teaching her to date.

-ktw

[waksupi]

Yes, the flip side of "Alice's Restaurant" has been sorely neglected over the years!


"I don't want a pickle
Just want to ride on my motorsickle" -arlo guthrie

My youngest daughter uses that line anytime anyone offers her a pickle. One of the more useful things I've suceeded in teaching her to date.

-ktw

[BluesBear]

And I don't want to die.
Just wanna ride my motor cy...




... kul :mrgreen:



I never will forget watching Arlo sing that song on The Johnny Cash Show.