Greek Easter eggs form an essential part of the Greek Orthodox festivities around Easter time. Symbolising birth and renewal, they're easy to prepare and made without any food colouring. Use my recipe as a guide to make your Greek red eggs and join the celebration! P.S. they contain no chocolate!
Place eggs in a single layer on the bottom of a stainless steel pot.
Add the brown onion skins and the water - making sure it covers everything
Add the red wine vinegar and stir. Cook on medium heat for 15-20 mins. Remove from the heat and allow the eggs to cool and steep in the natural dye (see note 3)
Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel-lined dish.
Allow them to dry completely before polishing with a little bit of olive.
Video
Notes
Fresh eggs. Use fresh eggs. To do the freshness test, fill a bowl with cold water and place your eggs in it. If they sink to the bottom and lay flat on one side, they are considered fresh. If they float, they are not fresh. N.B. this only determines freshness - this method can't tell you if an egg has gone off. Always check the expiry date and give them a good sniff too.
I used red wine vinegar but any vinegar will work.
The longer you leave your eggs soaking in the dye, the more intense the colour will be.
Leftover Onions. What should I do with my leftover onions? Chop them and freeze them. Place the portioned chopped onions in a freezer bag and remove as much air as possible and seal. Place in the freezer and use within 3-6 months.
Different coloured eggs. In recent times, people have started dyeing their Greek Easter eggs in different colours. Anything from purple to blue! I had never experimented with any other colours, except for once when I used red onions. This resulted in a bizarre brown-ish colour that was not very pleasant!