Welcome back to {Celebrating Our Heritage Series}! 
Decorating Easter Eggs is a fun tradition celebrated around the world. Today I’m sharing Grampa’s Lithuanian tradition of Decorating Easter Eggs {With Onion Peel Dye}!
When I was a kid I always looked forward to all of the fun Easter traditions. Waking up early on Easter Sunday to see what delicious treats the Easter Bunny left in my basket, Easter egg hunts, and of course Decorating Easter Eggs! My Mom and I usually just used the store bought PAAS coloring tablets but I always looked forward to seeing the beautiful naturally dyed eggs Grammy and Grampa would have.
When he was a young boy in Lithuania this was the method that his family always used to color their eggs. Sometimes he would even press different leaves onto the egg’s surface that would later reveal their beautiful impressions.
I never knew the exact process that he used for his onion peel dye but my Mom corresponds on a regular basis with our family in Lithuania and they sent me some tips on how they do it and some different techniques.
They like to use different leaves, rice and even some of the onion peels to wrap tightly against the egg’s surface to add beautiful details.
I bought some pantyhose and cut them up to use to wrap the eggs with and they worked beautifully! I liked the stretchiness of the fabric for securing the leaves and onion peel.
Depending on how many eggs you plan on dyeing and wrapping you may need to buy more than one pair. I had enough to wrap about 8 eggs which was fine. I dyed 12 and I wanted some plain eggs as well that did not need to be wrapped.
There are many different recipe and methods for making the onion peel dye. This is one that I found that I liked the best. I wanted to make sure that my eggs were a nice deep reddish orange tone without overcooking my eggs. This particular recipe requires you to boil the onion peels alone in vinegar and water for 30 minutes then strain the onion peels out, cool the liquid dye and reheat it again with the eggs added in it the second time.
My Mom has been collecting onion peels for some time now but most recipes just require the peel from about 12 onions.
I used a bit more than 12 onion skins because we had so many saved. The pot I used was a deep pot that was about 9 1/2 inches in diameter. It was a good size to fit a dozen eggs on the bottom of.
Once I added the onion peels to the pot I used my hands to crush them and push them down into the pot. Then I added water and 3 tablespoons of vinegar. I used 6 1/2 Cups of water but I really could have used more. I ended up pouring the liquid dye into a slightly smaller pot to boil the eggs in so they were completely submerged in the dye.
Once the water was added to my pot I covered it with the lid and brought the water to a boil. Once it was boiling I turned the temperature down and simmered it for 30 minutes.
While my onion peels were simmering I prepared my eggs. I used baby arugula leaves, flat leaf parsley, pea shoots, and I wrapped some onion peels around some of the eggs which created a cool marbleized effect. I placed the leaf on my egg and carefully wrapped the cut piece of pantyhose around it and stretched it over the egg tightly to keep the leaf in place.
Then I twisted the end of the pantyhose and secured it with a twist tie.
I trimmed the excess nylon off and continued to wrap the rest of my eggs. I place them in the egg carton until I was ready to put them in the dye.
After the 30 minutes I removed the boiled onion peels from the heat and let it cool. I was able to cool it pretty quickly by placing it outside in the cold air. If you don’t live in a cold climate you’ll have to let it cool slowly. Once it gets somewhat cool enough you could always put it in the fridge or freezer to speed up the process. Just don’t put it in there straight from the stove while it’s still hot.
Once it was cooled I strained the liquid into another pot. You could also strain it into another container and then add it back into your pot to re-boil if needed.
I also made sure I squeezed the onion peels to get as much of the liquid dye out of them as I could. Once I couldn’t get anymore out I added my prepared room temperature eggs carefully into the dye.
Bring your eggs to a slow boil. Once boiling reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Check to see how the color looks by carefully lifting one of the eggs with a slotted spoon. I left my eggs in for 15 minutes then I removed the pan from the heat and let them sit in the hot dye for another 5 minutes.
Once I was happy with the color of my eggs I carefully removed them with a slotted spoon and place them back into the egg carton to cool. Once they were cool enough to handle I unwrapped them and peeled off the leaves and onion skins to reveal their beautiful impressions!
Once the eggs were cooled and dry I rubbed a little bit of oil onto their surface with a paper towel. It really brightened their color up and made it more vibrant.
Decorating Easter Eggs {With Onion Peel Dye} {Celebrating Our Heritage Series}
Ingredients
- 1-2 Dozen White eggs
- Peel from 12 onions +
- 6 1/2-8 Cups Water
- 3 Tablespoons White vinegar
- Olive oil bacon fat or other oil of your choice
- Pantyhose or cheese cloth for wrapping eggs
- Twist ties
- Assortment of leaves such as..baby arugula, parsley, pea shoots or what ever else you think will look cool! Use your imagination!
Instructions
- Cut pantyhose in about 3 inch sections. Wrap a leaf or leaves or whatever else you think will make an interesting impression to the egg with the pantyhose. Twist end to hold tight and secure with a twist tie. Repeat and cover all or as many eggs as you would like. Set aside until dye is ready.
- Bring water, vinegar and onion peels to a boil. Cover reduce heat and let simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
- Once cooled strain liquid out into another container. Discard onion peels and place liquid dye back into your pot. Carefully place your prepared room temperature eggs into the cooled dye. Bring to a slow boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Remove eggs with a slotted spoon and place back in egg carton or on a soft surface to cool.
- Once cool enough to handle remove pantyhose and peel the leaves off.
- Once completely cooled rub surface with oil to shine.
Nutrition
This recipe was adapted from one found on the kitchen.
I hoped you enjoyed our Lithuanian family tradition of Decorating Easter Eggs {With Onion Peel Dye} {Celebrating Our Heritage Series}! I know Grammy and Grampa are smiling from above! They would be very pleased to see how beautiful they came out!
Thank you for joining me for my {Celebrating Our Heritage Series}! I plan on revisiting this series in the future with some of my other family heritage too! Until then here is a recap of some of what was shared in the series so far in case you missed any! Just click the picture to view the post.
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