Egg-citing Colors: Making Naturally Dyed Deviled Eggs

Any get-together in the South is bound to have a few different deviled eggs on the table, but whose will be devoured first? To make your deviled eggs recipe stand out from the crowd, add a burst of color to boiled eggs using homemade, natural dyes in shades that can match any event or occasion. Here’s how, and if you don’t have a favorite deviled eggs recipe, the Blue Plate Mayo recipe collection has got you covered. That’s the good stuff!

First, dive into natural dyes.

To make a natural dye, a variety of common foods can be chopped up and simmered in water and food-grade white vinegar until their color is released. Then just cool the dye and immerse the boiled, peeled eggs until you get the color you want. Here are some tried and true options for getting the most commonly desired colors:

• Red or pink: 4 cups chopped red beets to 1 quart water

• Purple or lavender: 4 cups blueberries to 1 quart water

• Yellow: 3 tablespoons powdered turmeric to 1 quart water (bring water to boil before adding)

• Blue or bluegreen: 4 cups shredded purple cabbage to 1 quart water

• Brown: 4 cups red onion skins to 1 quart water

• Orange: 4 cups yellow onion skins to 1 quart water

How to make 1 quart of natural, edible dye:

To make a dye, add your selected color’s ingredients (see above) to a saucepan with 1 quart of water and 2 tablespoons of food-grade white vinegar. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat. Simmer for 30 to 40  minutes, then strain the liquid into a bowl, discard the solids, and cool the dye to room temperature before using. Repeat the process for each color dye.

Next, dye some eggs.

After the eggs are hardboiled and peeled, they’re ready to dye. When dyeing the boiled, peeled eggs to make deviled eggs, the eggs will need to be submerged in the dye from 10 to 45 minutes depending on the colors desired. The longer the eggs sit in the dye solution, the more vibrant the color, so for pastel colors the eggs will soak for a minimum amount of time, usually 10 to 15 minutes. To completely dye the egg whites, cut the boiled, peeled eggs in half, remove the yolks and set aside, then immerse the egg white halves in the desired dye.

Truly unique and authentic deviled eggs.

Once the eggs are dyed, just follow your favorite deviled eggs recipe for some delicious, colorful results that are sure to be the talk of the party. Or use our popular Basic Stuffed Eggs recipe below. Results can be inconsistent, but that gives the dish an authenticity that can be appreciated: it’s the beauty of natural ingredients!

Basic Stuffed Eggs

Ingredients

• 6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled*
• 4 ½ tablespoons Blue Plate® Mayonnaise
• Mustard to taste (about ½ teaspoon)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Paprika (sweet, hot or smoked) for garnish

Directions

1. Slice eggs in half lengthwise and carefully remove the yolks to a small bowl. Put the whites on a serving platter or egg plate.
2. Mash yolks with a fork. Add mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper and mix until creamy.
3. Use a spatula to transfer the mixture into a pastry bag (or a plastic sandwich bag and snip ¾ inch of one corner away) and pipe the mixture into the egg white halves.
4. Garnish with paprika and chill 15 minutes or up to 1 hour, uncovered, before serving.

1. *How to make easy-to-peel hard-boiled eggs: Place eggs gently in a deep pot of cold water. Over high heat, bring to a full rolling boil. Remove pot from heat and set a timer for 10 minutes for firm yolks. Prepare a large bowl of ice and water. When the timer goes off, immediately put the eggs into the ice water to cool. (Quick cooling prevents green ring around the yolks.) When eggs are completely cool, refrigerate or peel. To peel, crack on a flat surface and roll the egg on it, remove shell, rinse.