Dying the First Easter Eggs

" So the little brown hen made her way sadly home again. It was then she heard a tiny cheeping sound. There in the long grass she saw an egg. It was just the right size, the right shape and the right colour. TAP! TAP! the egg cracked! And inside was her own fluffy, yellow chick."
(Excerpt from "Is that my Egg?", Keith Faulkner, 1999, Brainwaives Ltd.)



Today, we dyed our first Easter eggs of the season.

Around this time of year, there are many different types of Easter egg dyes in German stores.

Of course, you can make your own natural Easter egg dyes by using onion skins, different kinds of tea leaves, coffee grinds, spinach, red cabbage etc. but this year, we decided to go for the ready made dyes.

There is a whole range of wonderful colors available.

There is the "cold egg dye", the "warm egg dye", the "pastel dye", the "marble/glitter dye", etc. For today, we chose bold colors and when the eggs where done, we even had a visit from a curious little bunny called "Kasimir".

For the "warm egg dye", you simply dissolve a color tablet in hot water and vinegar, add the still warm, hard-boiled eggs to the dye, leave the eggs in the dye for a few minutes and let them dry by placing them in egg cartons.

If you want to add some shine to the eggs, simply rub them with a bit of regular salad oil or, as my Grandmother used to do it, with a bit of pork rind...well, in addition to the shine, it certainely added a nice smell to the eggs.