Use Food Coloring To Make Vibrantly Colored Easter Eggs – Here’s How

For years my family has come to my house to dye eggs for Easter. When my kids were little beasties I didn't have a lot of money and buying Easter egg dye at the grocery store seemed like a bit of an extravagance especially since I had vinegar and food coloring at home. My Seti, my Lebanese grandmother, taught me how to make my own Easter egg dye and I've done my Easter eggs that way every year for over 30 years. This year the food coloring experts at McCormick put out a handy guide to getting the color you want with their food coloring.

It's super easy to do this. Just mix 1/2 cup boiling water and 1 teaspoon vinegar, then add the food coloring to the bowl. I have a dozen little bowls that I use every year just for egg dyeing because I don't want to discolor my regular bowls. Grab some at the dollar store and use them every year. My bowls have actually become a tradition and my granddaughters say that they want to inherit them and use them when they have their own kids. Here is the graphic with the McCormick color dye recipes:

If you don't know how to boil an egg, it's easy:

1. Eggs in the saucepan in a single layer go first and cover with cold water. Put the eggs in first so they don't fall to the bottom of the pan and crack.

2. Put the pan on the stove over high heat until it comes to a rolling boil then turn off the heat and cover with a lid.

3. Let the eggs stand in the hot water covered with the lid for 15 minutes. That will give you fully set whites and evenly cooked yolks.

Happy Easter!