every easter, for as far back as I can remember, my grandma would dye eggs with onion skins. she would bring them over to my brother and i, still warm, with a little story about how the easter bunny had been by and left them for us.
in addition to being an environmentally friendly alternative to the synthetic dye kits sold in stores, they also make for some unbelievably beautiful eggs - and a happy family tradition i am excited to carry on with finn.
onion skin easter eggs
::ingredients::
12 eggs at room temperature
the skin from 8-12 onions (i used a combination yellow and red onions skins)
4.5 cups of water
3 Tbsp vinegar
olive oil, as needed
::directions::
remove eggs from the fridge and let come to room temperature
in a stainless steel pot, add water, onion skins and vinegar.
bring mixture to a boil, then reduce to low heat.
cover pot and let simmer for 30 minutes
remove pot from heat and let cool on the (on the counter or outside) until liquid is close to room temperature.
at this point, you can either strain out the onion skins (this will give you a uniform, all over dye on the eggs) or you can leave the skins in the pot (this will give you a marbled look, like the eggs in my photographs)
add the eggs to the pot and bring the liquid to an easy boil over medium heat.
cover and simmer for 10- 20 minutes, checking the colour periodically by gently raising the eggs out of the pot with a slotted spoon.
Once desired darkness is reached, remove eggs from pot and let cool (its a good idea to keep the egg carton for this step)
when cool enough to handle, massage a little bit of olive oil into the eggs, wiping off excess and polishing the eggs with paper towel. this will bring out some amazing deep, rich tones.
i used a combination of white and brown eggs, but as you can see, i don't notice much of a difference between the two. these eggs are safe to eat if kept refrigerated afterward.
