Harmonious hues

Turmeric, blueberry, and red cabbage: make the loveliest eggs of Easter with simple ingredients from your kitchen

You can give your Easter eggs a lovely, unique finish using everyday items from your kitchen. The results from spices, teas, coffees, berries, and various vegetables can be a pleasant surprise—even for those doing the dyeing!

Author Jasmin Raitakari, Annette Saksman

Images Satu Nyström

April 8, 2025Lue suomeksi

Dyeing eggs—instructions:

You can dye eggs raw or cook them while dyeing.
Add the dyeing ingredients to 1 liter of boiling water. If you’re only making a dye bath, let it simmer for about 10–15 minutes. If you want to cook the eggs at the same time, add them to the boiling water along with the dyeing ingredients and boil for 7 minutes.
Keep boiled eggs in the dye bath for at least 10 minutes so the color sticks better. If you’re making eggs for Easter brunch, start preparing the previous evening—you’ll get the best results if you let your eggs soak overnight. For raw eggs, keep them in the dye bath for at least a couple of hours or overnight.
While testing different shades, we found out that eggs from different cartons can take on entirely different depths of color in the same dye bath, so the outcome is always a little surprise.
If you want a marbled effect, try dyeing brown eggs. The vinegar in the dye bath can strip off some of the shell’s brown coating.
For patterned eggs, wrap a piece of string around the egg or draw on the shell with a wax crayon before boiling.
If you’ve already boiled your eggs, don’t worry. You can still dye them with, for example, blueberries or spinach by gently rubbing the boiled egg with the ingredients and letting it dry before serving.

Tea and coffee

Matcha = pale yellow

Add 2–3 tablespoons of matcha powder plus 2 tablespoons of vinegar to the cooking water.

Hibiscus tea = brown

The white egg (on the left) was given a brushstroke-like finish and the brown egg a marbled effect by gently rubbing the eggs with paper towel.

Egg dyed with hibiscus tea — The white egg (on the left) was given a brushstroke-like finish and the brown egg a marbled effect by gently rubbing the eggs with paper towel.

Add three tea bags or an equivalent amount of loose tea and 1 tablespoon of vinegar to the cooking water. A white egg will become reddish brown, while a brown egg takes on a striking dark brown marbled look as the shell’s color comes off.

Berry tea = brown

The white egg (on the left) turned muddy brown. The brown egg’s web-like pattern was created by gently rubbing the shell with a paper towel.

Egg dyed with berry tea — The white egg (on the left) turned muddy brown. The brown egg’s web-like pattern was created by gently rubbing the shell with a paper towel.

Add three tea bags or an equivalent amount of loose tea and 1 tablespoon of vinegar to the cooking water.

Coffee = deep brown

Add 3 tablespoons of filter coffee or instant coffee and 1 tablespoon of vinegar to the cooking water.

Spices

Curry = canary yellow

Add 2 tablespoons of curry powder to the cooking water.

Turmeric = ocher yellow

Add 1 tablespoon of turmeric to the cooking water.

Berries

Lingonberry = pale gray

Add 2 dl of thawed lingonberries plus 1 tablespoon of vinegar to the cooking water.

Blueberry = deep violet

The egg on the left soaked in the solution for a couple of hours. The one on the right was dyed by rubbing thawed blueberries directly onto the shell.

Egg dyed with blueberries — The egg on the left soaked in the solution for a couple of hours. The one on the right was dyed by rubbing thawed blueberries directly onto the shell.

Add 2 dl of frozen blueberries to the cooking water. Blueberries also work well on eggs that are already boiled. Just rub 1 tablespoon of thawed blueberries onto the shell and let it dry.