. . . Finger Painted Easter Eggs

Start with a dozen free-range white eggs, hard boiled and chilled. When ready to paint, make sure eggs are well dried. A gentle sanding with light grade sandpaper will help the colours adhere. Use any of the foods listed below as natural finger paints. Please note that most of the colours look more lively in reality than they do in the accompanying photographs.

To create a colour that is relatively uniform, rub the food being used in even, vertical strokes. Work section by section until the desired look is achieved. Start with dry fingers and periodically wipe them on a paper towel to keep them from getting too moist. When done, allow egg to dry. If bits of the food fibre have stuck to the egg, you can whisk them away with a q-tip or tissue.

Turmeric

The egg in this photograph was actually done with a small amount of vitamin B complex powder mixed with water. While this ingredient created a wonderful rich yellow, we found that even when dry, the colour would rub off when the egg was handled. I later tried a paste of turmeric and water. This produced similar results with a more permanent stain.

Spinach

Spinach leaves create a beautiful pale green. Take a few leaves and fold in half, pressing until leaves snap apart at the crease.  Rub green juice all over egg and colour as indicated above.

Blueberries

This egg was coloured with two frozen blueberries (thawed). Gently squeeze the berry to get the juice flowing. The rings were an aberration with this egg. The juice did not adhere to those areas, creating a unique, decorative pattern.

Beets

Beet juice also creates a mauve colour with a more purplish hue than blueberries. Slice a beet and rub cut side in vertical strokes along a section of the egg and colour as indicated above. If beet is getting too dry, cut off a thin slice to get the juice flowing again.

Cranberries

This baby pink colour is the result of two frozen cranberries (thawed). Like the blueberries, gently squeeze the cranberries to get the juice flowing. For a deeper colour you could do a second coat with beets. . . or even with blueberries for an interesting experiment.

Dye Methods that Work in Minutes

Onion Skins

Wrap an egg with outer onion skins and secure with rubber bands. Place in a small pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from pan with tongs or a slotted spoon and allow to cool. Unwrap egg. The result will be a gorgeous sunset colour with interesting patterns.

Red Cabbage

Boil a couple handfuls of finely chopped red cabbage in water until it is mushy and most of the water is gone. Allow to cool. Smother a hard boiled egg in the mush and let sit for 10 minutes. Then, "smoosh" the cabbage all over the egg allowing it to drop into the pot. Remove excess cabbage with a quick rinse under the tap. The result will be a beautiful robin's egg blue. . . much more lively than what we could capture in this photo.

To view a large image of the egg display, please click here.

Recipes by: Robin Russell

"There are probably many more foods that will colour eggs using the finger painting method. You could try black cherries, raspberries, blackberries and spices such as paprika and chili powder. Frozen concentrated Acai juice might also work. Acai is a purple brazilian berry high in antioxidants that's becoming a popular beverage in health food stores. Every time I drink it I end up with a purple smile, so it wouldn't surprise me if it stains eggs too."

Recipes Publshed: Spring, 2006

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