Bela Krajina Sliding Eggs from Onion Skins

The natural dye from onion skins is simple to prepare, but the challenge begins if youre not skilled with a knife in one hand and an egg in the other. Just keep in mind that youre scraping the color onto the egg…

Details

  • Preparation Time: 15 minutes
  • Cooking Time: 110 minutes
  • Difficulty: 2
  • Spiciness: 0
  • Number of Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 4 pieces Egg, fresh

  • 4 handfuls Onion, raw

  • 3 spoons Vinegar, apple

  • 2 spoons Frying fat, plant

Steps

  1. Peel the onion and save the skins in a large bowl. Bring 2 liters of water to a boil and add 2 handfuls of onion skins. Add a tablespoon of vinegar and simmer for 30 minutes on moderate heat (the water should not boil). After half an hour, add the remaining skins and two more tablespoons of vinegar, and simmer for another 20 minutes. Then, use a ladle to remove all the skins or simply strain the contents. Discard the skins and pour the dyed water back into the pot where you boiled the skins.

  2. Wash the eggs thoroughly and dry them with a clean kitchen towel. Place them one by one on a spoon and carefully lower them into the hot dyed water. Turn on the stove, but the water with the eggs should not boil, so cook on the lowest heat. Leave the eggs undisturbed for one hour, then turn off the heat. If you’re curious during cooking and check on the eggs to see if the color has adhered, there’s a high chance you’ll damage or "scratch" them with the spoon or anything else you use to poke around in the pot. When the eggs are dyed and cooked, carefully scoop them out with a spoon and place them one by one on a soft surface (a kitchen towel). Choose a towel that isn’t too valuable, as the eggs will stain it.

  3. Once they cool, grease them with fat, lard, or oil to make them shine. Now you can start creating patterns on the dyed eggshells with a craft knife.

Nutrition Information (Per 100g)

  • Calories: 77.6 kcal
  • Fat: 3.33 g
    • Saturated Fat: 1.07 g
  • Carbohydrates: 5.2 g
    • Sugars: 2.27 g
  • Protein: 4.93 g
  • Fiber: 0.53 g

Advice

The time for preparing and cooking does not include the time for creating the patterns. Creating a pattern on the entire surface of the egg can take skilled cultural heritage bearers several hours. Traditionally, patterns of wheat ears, flowers, etc., are scraped onto the eggs… You can boil any number of eggs in the dyed water—depending on the size and width of the pot. Just make sure they don’t touch during cooking. When the eggs are boiled and placed on a cloth, do not attempt to remove any potential stains, as this will remove the dye (not with fingers, not with a cloth, not with a paper towel). Wait for the eggs to cool, and when you grease them with fat, there will be almost no trace of the stains. For the first time, choose thicker chicken eggs, as they will be easier to handle. Make sure the shell has no irregularities and is clean before dyeing. In practice, eggs with darker shells have proven to be the best. Forget the saying: "The whiter the egg, the better the color sticks."