German Easter Eggs (Ostereier)
"Thought I would share this simple, old-fashioned method for beautiful bright and shiny colored Easter eggs. My mother and German Oma made Easter Eggs this way, ever since I can remember. The eggs can be dyed with store-bought dyes or by boiling the eggs with natural substances such as onion skin, tea, beetroot juice, spinach, nettle roots and leaves, alder or oak bark. Vinegar added to the water makes the colors brighter, and rubbing with either bacon fat or salad oil produces a shine."
photo by gemini08
- Ready In:
- 5mins
- Ingredients:
- 2
- Yields:
-
12 colored Easter Eggs
ingredients
- 12 hardboiled egg, colored (we dye them in mugs of boiling water with store-bought dye, with a little vinegar added to the water)
- bacon grease or salad oil, for rubbing
directions
- When hardboiled colored eggs are completely cool and dry, rub them with bacon fat or a little vegetable oil, to produce a nice shine.
- Arrange them in an attractive basket or platter lined with green Easter "grass".
- Keep eggs cool until it's time for the Easter Egg Hunt.
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Reviews
-
Loved the idea! These eggs turned beautiful; subtle pastel colors without any artificial food colors. After letting them dry, I rubbed them with oil for a gorgeous sheen. This was so much fun, I will never use food colors again on my easter eggs.<br/>4/12/2012 UPDATE: I used 3 tsp tumeric in a cup of hot water with one tsp vinagre for yellow, the green is made with spinach water, the pink is made with beet juice. The purple egg was dipped in all 3 colors, back and forth. It takes a while for the colors to develop, don't be in a hurry when you make them but the endresult is really worth it.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
<p>Married to my sweetheart for almost forty years and we have two wonderful children who are grown and have flown the coop. Also, we have been blessed with a wonderful son-in-law and beautiful daughter-in-law, plus FIVE grandchildren: two beautiful granddaughters ages five and eight, and three sweet adorable little grandsons ages 2 months, 2 years and 3 years. My husband and I share a combination of English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Dutch, Swiss, Polish, Austrian, German and French heritage, and our son-in-law and daughter-in-law are both Hispanic. We've traveled extensively to many countries abroad (we lived in Germany), and have traveled and lived in several states here in the U.S.A. Many of the recipes I post here are influenced by our combined heritage or from our travels, or they are old family favorites that I want to share with you. I hope you enjoy! Have been to culinary school with many years of cooking (mostly for my family) under my belt, so know my way around a kitchen. And I'm very lucky to have the best sous chef in the world, dddddh! One of my favorite chefs of all time is Jacques Pepin! I have several of his cookbooks, and enjoy watching his television cooking show Fast Food My Way. Another top favorite is Julia Child (of course!). A few other chefs I read/enjoy watching on t.v. are: Giada At Home, Ina Garten's The Barefoot Contessa, Nigella Lawson's Nigella Bites, and Patti's Mexican Kitchen, and many more. On my bucket list is dining at Thomas Keller's establishment The French Laundry in Napa Valley, California... as well as Alice Waters' Chez Panisse in Berkeley, and the James Beard award winning Tartine Bakery and Cafe in San Francisco. One day!! Hobbies/Interests: Decorating with fresh flowers and herbs from the garden is my passion, and brings me deep joy! It's really hard to beat!! I love connecting with others who enjoy the same. Gardening, decorating, sewing, music, dancing, film, and reading are also up there. Spending quality time with my grandchildren, family, and friends (and cooking holiday meals!). Currently, a newfound passion has been so richly rewarding for me: genealogical research. I heart ancestry dot com. And last but certainly not least, I absolutely LOVE cats--we have two half-Siamese fur babies (cats) that allow us to live here!! A Note of Thanks~ I try to personally thank everyone who kindly makes and reviews my recipes, but sometimes I am busy, late, or may forget. Please know that I am always humbled that you would try one of my recipes, and I enjoy reading the reviews and seeing all the pretty photographs. Thanks so much! </p>
