Gray-blue, lilac, blue eggs for Easter. We paint hibiscus tea

One of the popular natural food colors that many housewives use when coloring eggs for Easter is an infusion of hibiscus (hibiscus, or Sudanese rose). This tea, loved by many, is a healthy drink that pleases with its ruby color, pleasant sourish fresh taste and bright aroma. It is also a safe, inexpensive and beautiful ingredient for producing blue-gray dyes.

Getting ready to paint

Before painting, leave the eggs in the refrigerator on the table for a while or warm them to room temperature by immersing them in warm water. This will protect the shell from cracking during sudden temperature changes.
It is better to boil eggs in salted water, then the whites will not leak out if the shell does crack.
The shells need to be degreased with vinegar, alcohol, or simply washed thoroughly with soap and water.

Detailed painting recipe

Despite the rich garnet color of the decoction, the coloring result is surprising - the dye acquires a blue, gray or even deep dark blue hue (depending on the time of exposure). This is because the groups of acids contained in the infusion interact with calcium carbonate, which is present in the shell. Many housewives recommend adding vinegar to the liquid with natural dye to enhance the color, but in this case there is no point in it.

We will need:

white chicken eggs;
salt – 1 teaspoon;
hibiscus – 30 grams;
water – 1 liter.

Painting process:

To color hibiscus eggs, first hard-boil them in the traditional way for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and add cold water (this will help the eggs peel better). It should be cooked in salted water.
Brew tea: pour hibiscus leaves into a saucepan and pour boiling water over it. The drink should steep for 15–20 minutes. The broth can be strained using a strainer, but this is not necessary.
Gently dip the eggs into the coloring solution with a spoon for 2-3 minutes so that the liquid completely covers the future coloring. Remove the egg and let it dry by dabbing it with a napkin or paper towel, but not wiping it. This way the pigment will apply more actively.

To obtain a more saturated and deep shade, repeat the procedure - lower the egg into the solution again for 2-3 minutes. Dry again with a paper towel. These manipulations can be repeated until the desired shade is obtained. After 8–10 times you can achieve the fashionable “Niagara” color.

To make the paints festive and shiny, they should be wiped with a cloth or cotton pad soaked in vegetable oil.

After some time, the color of the eggs will change from bright purple to blue-turquoise. If you leave them in the infusion for 10-15 minutes, rather than coloring them in stages, they will turn gray, and the stronger the infusion, the more saturated blue the final shade will be.

To get a marbled egg, leave it in the tea for 4-5 hours. The shell will be covered with a gray film, which should not be washed off - you need to wait until it dries completely. These colors are very impressive as a gift for Easter and as a holiday table decoration.