One of the main symbols of Easter is colored eggs. Traditionally, they are dyed in onion skins, which gives the eggs their symbolic red color. But I really want it to be decorated not only with red, but also with multi-colored, unusual, painted colors.

The easiest way is to use food coloring for eggs. But even here, without knowing the rules and features of coloring, you can encounter a number of difficulties. Therefore, let’s figure out how to dye eggs for Easter with dyes. Moreover, we will consider both classical methods and unusual coloring options.

What you need to know about food coloring

In this material we will not discuss the safety of ready-made chemical dyes. Let's get acquainted only with the pitfalls of this problem.

Let us remind you that additives marked “E” included in such coloring products are harmful to health. Therefore, eggs, after being treated with dyes, often move from the category of food to the category of souvenirs.

Many people, without thinking about whether it is possible to eat food dyes for eggs, eat the egg whites that have been stained with paint. We advise you not to take risks and not give such eggs to children and allergy sufferers.

Many manufacturers add salt or sugar to the composition, which reduces the concentration of harmful chemical additives, but does not make the paint edible.

Often on sets of dyes such as “Krashenka”, “Easter set”, “Paint for eggs”, “Ukrasa”, etc. The manufacturer does not indicate the composition at all, but only writes that it is a food coloring.

But don't let your guard down. Even by the color of the dye you can find out what dangers lie behind it.

For those who are not familiar with the “chemical kitchen” of dyes, we have prepared a short explanation.

The most harmless dyes are E 100 and E 140. The first is obtained from curcumin and gives an orange, or less often red, color to the dye. The second is chlorophyll, which colors eggs green.

E 122 (carmoisine) is used to produce a red dye. Causes allergic reactions in people sensitive to aspirin.

E 124 gives a red color, but is prohibited for use in the food industry.

E 128 is another additive for obtaining a red tint. Due to the presence of aniline, it is prohibited for use by the European Commission.

E 102 or tartrazine is a yellow dye with a tarnished reputation.

E 132 is an additive in the form of synthetic indigo carmine, which is necessary to obtain green, blue and yellow colors. But the karma of this additive is complex: it causes suffocation in asthmatics, exacerbations in allergy sufferers with complications such as Quincke's edema.

The E 133 or Blue Shiny FCF is capable of the same feats as its previous brother.

E 142 or the green additive causes allergic rashes on contact - it is prohibited in a number of countries.

This frightening list can be continued endlessly. But this is enough to understand that the “food grade” label does not make the dye safe.

Organic dyes are truly safe. But this is very expensive and unprofitable for the manufacturer. That’s why we haven’t even heard of such dyes in stores.

How to properly color eggs with food coloring

If the question of whether it is possible to eat egg dyes does not bother you as much, we still suggest that you protect your loved ones and try to prevent the dye from penetrating the shell. To do this you will have to follow a few simple rules.

Choose eggs for coloring that are fresh and have a strong shell.

Remove the eggs from the refrigerator ahead of time to keep them warm. This will prevent the shell from cracking due to temperature differences.

It is advisable to wash the product with warm water before cooking, and if necessary, use a brush and soapy water.

It is better to immerse the product for cooking in water at room temperature.

Some housewives add salt to the water when cooking. But this method will not prevent the formation of cracks, but will help the protein to curl faster and not leak out of the shell if splits occur. Such eggs are no longer suitable for dyeing.

It is better to cook in a wide pan and place the eggs in one layer.

Avoid boiling too much when boiling: the eggs will bounce when boiling too much and may break each other.

There are certain requirements for the dyes themselves for Easter eggs. When choosing a product, pay attention to the composition. At a minimum, the packaging should be marked “food grade”.

Important! Pearlescent dye for eggs is strictly contraindicated for consumption. It can only be used to decorate souvenir eggs.

The classic way to color eggs with food coloring

The dyeing method will largely depend on the type of dye itself. Powdered dry dyes are most often used for Easter eggs. You can find food coloring in tablets.

The principle of staining with such means is identical. But it is better to study the instructions before use, which indicate the recommended proportions.

The color indicated on the package will be obtained by dyeing white eggs. If dye is used on brown shells, the color may vary significantly.

Often brown eggs get a sloppy or dirty appearance after dyeing.

Keep in mind that the richer the dyeing solution, the brighter and darker the color of the shell.

Pre-boiled eggs are colored.

It is advisable to degrease the shell before painting. This can be done with vinegar or alcohol.

If using alcohol, wait 10-15 minutes after treatment to allow the product to evaporate from the surface. If salt was used during cooking, it must be thoroughly washed off before treating with an oxidizing agent.

Add a spoonful of vinegar to the prepared solution - this technique increases the acidity, which improves coloring.

Dip the egg into the solution, where we leave it for about 10 minutes.

After this, remove the paint from the liquid and leave it until completely dry.

It is better to dry the paints on an egg rack. But even in this case it is difficult to avoid the appearance of stripes.

It's better to make a special stand. To do this, insert pins or needles with caps into a foam sponge.

On such an improvised stand, painted eggs dry without streaks or streaks.

After drying, the paints can be treated with vegetable oil to give them shine. This can be done with a brush or directly with your hands.

In addition to the classical method, you can use

How to use liquid egg dyes

Liquid food dyes for eggs are available in packages such as plastic capsules or glass tubes.

The concentration of coloring matter in such products is much higher, and after application the crafts turn out bright and shiny.

Boiled eggs are also used for processing. We will work directly with our hands. Therefore, we put gloves on our hands to prevent the dye from being absorbed into the skin.

We apply a little dye directly to the egg shell and begin to rub the dye until the entire surface is covered. If necessary, you can add it directly during processing.

The process of applying liquid dye to eggs is shown in detail in the video:

For those who still prefer natural materials, we have prepared a selection

step by step recipe with photos

All people can be divided into conservatives and innovators, therefore, when it comes to coloring eggs for Easter, it turns out that some people paint eggs in onion skins year after year, while others experiment. Today we will paint the eggs with pearlescent paint.

Ingredients

• 3 bags of pearlescent paint
• 6 eggs
• hot water
• a pair of gloves
• scissors
• dark colored dishes
• napkins

Preparation

1. Eggs at room temperature should be placed in cold salted water and cooked all the time over low heat - most likely, this will protect them from cracking. At the same time, the bags of paint need to be immersed in hot (not boiling water!) water so that the paint becomes more liquid.

2. Boiled eggs should be cooled slightly so as not to burn your hands. Put on gloves, cut the edge of the paint bag - any color. Apply a few drops to the shell and rub over the entire surface of the egg. Let it dry - literally for 10-15 minutes.

3. The intensity of the color directly depends on the amount of paint, so here you can “play” with shades.

4. Spread all over the eggs and leave to dry. The manufacturer indicated that this amount of paint is enough to color 8 eggs. In fact - much more.

5. When the paint on the eggs dries, lightly wipe them with a napkin - just to be sure. Next, choose a different color and apply with your fingertips to create a beautiful marbled color. Orange and silver are very delicate, while orange and green are bright and beautiful. Perhaps you have different colors - feel free to use your imagination.

6. Pearlescent coloring of eggs for Easter is a great option, but there are several nuances. Do not work without gloves and use dark-colored dishes - white ones may become stained. Don't put too much paint on the shell - it will bleed onto the egg itself. The dyes, of course, are food-grade, but you shouldn’t get carried away either. To make the eggs more shiny, you can gently rub them with sunflower oil. Happy Easter!

Pysanka or krashenka is the best Easter gift for friends and family. And it’s time to pay maximum attention to the question of how to paint eggs. And to make the symbol of the upcoming holiday look truly worthy, PrimaMedia has collected on the Internet some of the most interesting ways of coloring eggs, which were shared by experienced housewives.

Eggs with imprints of living plants

This method is almost no different from the traditional “grandmother’s” method, which requires onion broth. It's very easy to prepare. Usually, the peels from eight onions are enough for two glasses of water, although you can “play” with the degree of concentration. The whole secret of this method is to leave some kind of pattern on the egg unpainted. For this you only need stencils and old nylon stockings. Various flowers and leaves can serve as stencils. You can use fragments of living plants (indoor or wild) or cut out of paper. The stencil should be placed on the egg, and a nylon stocking or gauze should be put on top. Secure the ends of the resulting bag with an elastic band or thread. Now just leave the boiled eggs in a saucepan with the broth for several hours, then remove the nylon and stencils from them.

This method of coloring cannot be called complicated, but it also requires some skill. For it we need the same onion peels, gauze and dye (preferably red). Take onion skins and cut them into small slices with scissors. Next, dip the egg in water, then roll it in the husk. It should stick to the egg. If it doesn’t stick very well, help with your hands. After this, we place the egg in cheesecloth and securely fix it together with the husk, lower it into a pan with colored water. Boil the eggs for 5-7 minutes until cooked, then take them out and remove all excess.

Marble eggs. Photo: https://pixabay.com/ru

To achieve a marble effect, you can use the dye together with sunflower oil. To do this, first paint the boiled egg in a light tone and let it dry completely. Add a spoonful of vegetable oil to the container with darker paint and carefully, without shaking, mix the solution. After this, the large oil stain should break into small ones - the size of a pea. Dip the dried egg into the dye and oil solution and remove immediately.

To get eggs with a beautiful lace effect, you just need to wrap a boiled egg in lace or tulle, then dip it in a solution with paint for 10 minutes. Then we remove the fabric and get a sophisticated pattern on the surface of the egg. To make the ornament more detailed, the lace or tulle should fit as tightly as possible to the shell. Therefore, we use the same nylon, elastic bands or threads. Another important point is that with this method of coloring you need to take only white eggs.

Lacy eggs. Photo: https://pixabay.com/ru

Sea pebbles or speckled eggs

You can use rice or other grains to add specks to the eggs. Wet eggs are rolled in cereal, carefully wrapped in gauze or nylon, the ends of which are tied with thread. The rice should fit very tightly to the egg. The eggs are then colored with onion skins. The bag is removed, and the places where the rice was adjacent to the surface remain unpainted, creating an interesting “mottling”. In addition to onion skins, you can also use regular food coloring. In this case, fill the glass halfway with rice, drop liquid paint directly onto the rice (15-20 drops), close the lid and shake. Place the hot boiled egg on the rice. Close the lid and shake vigorously. Ready!

Sea pebbles. Photo: https://pixabay.com/ru

Decoupage egg

To decorate an Easter egg with a picture, you can decorate it using the decoupage technique. Decoupage does not take much time, does not require large investments, and the result exceeds all expectations. To do this, first boil the eggs hard. Choose a beautiful paper napkin, separate the top layer and cut out the piece you like. We apply the picture tightly to the shell, and apply gelatin glue or starch paste made from corn or potato starch on top of the picture with a brush. The main thing is to smooth out all the wrinkles and securely fix the thinnest paper sheet on the shell. Leave to dry and your sophisticated vintage gift is ready.

Decoupa egg. Photo: https://pixabay.com/ru

You can color Easter eggs with all the colors of the rainbow using regular wax crayons. First, boil the eggs in salted water. The color of the shell can be any color, since it will be hidden under a layer of opaque wax. Dry the shells and place the eggs on plastic bottle caps. While the eggs are still hot, color them with crayons. When it comes into contact with a hot surface, the wax melts and forms bizarre, bright patterns with color transitions on the shell. You can also grate pencils on a fine grater and sprinkle them on freshly boiled eggs. The grains of wax will create an unusual cosmic pattern on them. You can also melt the wax crumbs in a water bath and dip the eggs in liquid dye, or apply colored crumbs to the egg using a brush.

Rainbow eggs. Photo: https://pixabay.com/ru

In order to get elegant polka dot eggs, you need to use only white eggs. We will also need regular food coloring, electrical tape and a hole punch. Some people use double-sided tape, but it can leak dye. So, boil the eggs “hard-boiled” - about 15 minutes after boiling. While the eggs are cooling, use a hole punch to make circles from regular blue electrical tape, then stick them tightly onto the egg. Smooth all the peas well onto the egg with your finger. The more carefully you glue, the smoother and neater the peas will be. Next, we paint it in the usual way and after the shell has dried, remove the circles. Afterwards, the egg can be rubbed with sunflower oil until shiny.

Polka dot eggs. Photo: https://pixabay.com/ru

Note to housewives

1. For coloring, it is better to take eggs that are about four or five days old, since fresh eggs are less easy to clean.

2. Before cooking, eggs should sit at room temperature for three to four hours (overnight is possible).

3. Before coloring, it is best to wash eggs with baby soap and wipe with alcohol.

4. If you paint eggs in boiling broth, be sure to salt it.

5. After coloring with natural dyes, the eggs should be dipped in ice water to make them easier to clean.

6. To add shine, finished eggs can be greased with oil or confectionery mother-of-pearl.

7. For coloring, it is better to use white eggs of approximately the same size.

Thank you to the EAOmedia.ru portal for your help in preparing the material.

Sister of Janus

If you remember, every year I post photos of our painted eggs and every year I try to come up with something new in their design to surprise my family and friends. Well, of course, as soon as Veronica grew up, I began to come up with ways to color and paint eggs, in which my girl could participate as much as possible. Veronica really enjoys the process of decorating Easter eggs. And this year, almost all the eggs were decorated by her herself. Well, for my part, I decided to prepare a small master class and show you our creations and all the tools that helped us do this.

What a blessing that today you can buy almost everything in stores. Dyes are dry, liquid, pearlescent, shiny, marble. Stencils, felt-tip pens, gels, stickers - what can you find on the shelves on Easter Eve! This is why decorating Easter eggs is such a favorite and interesting activity for us.

So, first about egg coloring
I’ll write right away that I gave up thermal stickers a long time ago. Yes, of course this method is simple and beautiful, but... I don’t like it. That's why I prefer to paint eggs. I use dry dyes in tablets and powders, as well as liquid ones.
What should you pay attention to here?For expiration date.
When buying dyes, BE SURE to look at the manufacturing date on the packaging. Most often, dry dyes are stored for 24 months, liquid dyes for 12 months. And very often before Easter, stores sell expired paints.

Preparing the eggs
I think everyone knows that it’s better to boil eggs in salted water so that they crack less. And in this sense, you can put a lot of salt without fear. One more thing, I don't put them on maximum heat. Again, so that they crack less. After the eggs are cooked, I WASH them. With a cloth!!! I carefully erase the c0\c1\c2 marks from them, erase traces of salt, etc. This is so that they are then evenly and beautifully painted.

Now, how to dilute dry dyes
I always breed according to the traditional recipe described on the package. Sachet (tablet) for half a glass of hot water + 1 tbsp. vinegar. I use tall mugs as tableware. So that the egg is completely hidden in them, and when stirring and turning, the water does not spill out.
This is what my colors look like:

How to paint
In order for the egg to color evenly, it must not lie on one side, so it must be stirred and turned over. Over time, eggs can turn different colors in different ways. It still depends on the desired shade. But on average I spend 3 to 5 minutes per egg.

How to remove and dry
A very important point that you should pay attention to so that the eggs do not become colored from each other and that the color remains uniform! I take the egg out of the glass with paint with a tablespoon and put it on a napkin (or even two napkins) and gently wipe it with the napkin. I place the dry egg either on a special stand or put it in a clean, dry plate.

How to use liquid dyes
Of course, using liquid dyes to color eggs is a more easily soiled method. However, the color often turns out better and more interesting. What should you stock up on? DISPOSABLE GLOVES. And I would recommend changing gloves (or at least washing them) when using different colors. In principle, I won’t give any special advice here; everything is done according to the instructions on the package. The dyes are placed in hot water, a small amount is squeezed onto the egg, rubbed with gloved hands, and placed on a stand until dry. By the way, they dry quickly.

General color recommendations
1.If you use regular dry dyes, for a brighter color the colored dry egg can be rubbed with sunflower oil. (it really looks great. While there were no liquid, pearlescent, gold, etc. dyes, I rubbed the eggs with oil regularly)
2. Pearlescent dry dyes give results no worse than liquid ones. (I compare photos from last year, where I used liquid, and this year, where I used dry, and I don’t see the difference)
3. Food dyes are washed off with water. So be prepared for the fact that if drops of water get in, the color will no longer be uniform (the same property can also be used to obtain some interesting coloring methods)

This year my paint set was as follows:
- pearlescent dry dyes
- liquid marble dyes
- a couple of dry natural dyes in tablets

What can you do with a painted egg and what do we do with it?
As I already wrote, an egg painted with regular dry dye can be wiped with sunflower oil and stop there. You can put a sticker on it. Or you can decorate it beautifully. Which, in fact, is what my daughter and I are doing. My main responsibilities end with painting eggs, then Veronica works.
What does she have for this:

Cooking

Since ancient times, the egg has been considered a symbol of fertility and the origin of life. That is why it became one of the attributes of Christian Easter. Every year, believers paint and decorate eggs, turning this activity into an exciting creative activity. There are many ways to color eggs for every taste and color - choose the techniques that you like and decorate the Easter table with the whole family!

How to prepare eggs for coloring

Remove the eggs from the refrigerator, when they have been at room temperature for a while, boil them in salted water so that the shell does not burst during cooking. Choose smooth white eggs for painting, wash them with soap or degrease the surface in another way - this way the paint will lie smoothly and beautifully. Some housewives wipe the surface of the eggs with vodka or vinegar, let the moisture evaporate, and then apply paint. After the painted eggs have dried, you can rub them with odorless sunflower oil for an impressive shine.

The classic method is painting with onion peels.

Take the peels of 8-10 onions and boil them in 0.5 liters of water for half an hour, then let the broth brew and strain it. Place boiled eggs in the cooled broth and keep them just as long as needed to obtain the desired shade. If you want to make fancy patterns, stick pieces of adhesive tape or tape on the shell to match the design, and peel off the sticky material after painting. Eggs that are wrapped in threads in random order before painting are very effective, and after drying the threads are removed. Such “paints” are unusual and resemble surrealist paintings.

Multi-colored eggs - a riot of colors at the celebration of life

Colored eggs look elegant and festive, and you can dye them with coffee, beetroot, carrot or nettle juice. The disadvantage of natural dyes is that they are not very active, and the eggs have to be kept in the dye for at least a day. It is much easier and more convenient to use food dyes for eggs from - they give a bright and rich color and are easy to use. Company Dr. Oetker produces classic and pearlescent food colors for coloring 60 and 40 eggs in packs of four colors - red, yellow, blue and green. The range also includes small 5 ml sachets for coloring 10 eggs in classic colors - red, yellow and green.

First, boil the eggs and prepare them for coloring. To dye, dissolve a bag of dye in 700 ml of boiling water and pour in 5 tbsp. l. table vinegar 9%. If you are using a lower concentration of vinegar, add a little more. Dip the eggs completely into the solution and leave them there for 2-4 minutes, then carefully remove with a spoon and place on a paper towel until dry. Eggs painted in this way look unusually bright, colorful and flawless!

Decorating Easter eggs using decoupage technique

Easter eggs decorated using the decoupage technique are almost a real work of art. Cut out fragments of the drawings using decoupage napkins and glue them to the shell with egg white, gelatin diluted in water, or flour or starch paste.

It is advisable to use only the very top layer of napkins so that the drawings stick better, and glue small fragments to the egg. The fact is that the larger the designs, the more difficult it is to attach them, given the oval shape of the egg. There is no need to beat the egg white to make glue - just stir it with a fork. Brush the egg with egg white using a brush, attach the designs, gently smooth it out and brush it again with protein “glue.”

Starch and flour glue are prepared from 2 tsp. flour or starch mixed with 2 tbsp. l. cold water. Pour the resulting mixture into half a glass of boiling water, bring to a boil again and cool.

If you decide to prepare gelatin glue, soften the gelatin in water - in the proportions indicated on the package, strain through a strainer, and then heat the gelatin remaining in the strainer so that the granules are completely dissolved.

Marble eggs for Easter

Marble eggs with rainbow stains on the shell look especially stylish and unexpected. Boil the eggs, cool them and wipe them dry. Prepare some food coloring for eggs - red, yellow, green and blue. Wrap each egg in a paper napkin, soak the napkins in vinegar, and drip the dye directly onto the napkins. They will spread very quickly over the dampened paper, leaving spectacular stains. Let the eggs cool for an hour and a half and then remove the napkins. Marbled eggs can be prepared in many ways, but this is one of the simplest techniques.

You can also get monochromatic marble stains by adding ready-made liquid dye Dr. to a glass. Oetker 1 tbsp. l. vegetable oil, lightly breaking it up with a spoon without beating. You should get a lot of oil droplets floating in the solution. Dip an egg into the dye, twist it a little to achieve a beautiful pattern, take it out and let it dry, placing it on two toothpicks. These eggs are reminiscent of noble marble with beautiful tints of color, turning into different shades of color. This is real magic!

Fun Easter Egg Crafts

You can make holiday crafts for the Easter table with your children, using boiled eggs as a base. The eggs make very cute chickens; for them you will need liquid yellow pearlescent dye, multi-colored paper and gelatin glue, the recipe for which can be found in the description of the decoupage technique.

Boil the eggs and place the dye packet in hot water until the dye becomes liquid. Wipe each egg with a paper towel and put on the protective gloves you'll find in your Dr. paint package. Oetker, shake the bag and cut off the corner with scissors a few drops of paint on your palm, rub your palms together so that the paint is evenly distributed, and roll the egg in your palms until it is completely colored. If necessary, apply a second coat of paint to achieve a brighter shade. Let the eggs dry, cut out a beak, scallop, wings, tail and paws from paper. Glue the parts to the egg using gelatin glue and leave the craft to dry. By the way, using this technology you can make different animals and birds from eggs, the main thing is to give free rein to your imagination.

Well, if you don’t have time for a creative approach, just stick thermal stickers on boiled eggs, wrap them in golden foil or paint them with ordinary wax crayons - this way they will also look festive and give you a bright Easter mood!