Eggs can be dyed not only in onion skins, but also in blueberries, beets, chamomile and other natural gifts / Article

Latvian Radio journalist Iveta Medene together with the members of the singing group “Burdons” Zoja Heimrati and Valda Vītola not only sing beautifully, but are also connoisseurs and continuers of Latvian traditions. That’s why I asked them about natural egg dyeing techniques.

“I cook onion skins in a proper soup and then in one pot, clean onion skins, in the second pot the peels with blueberries, in the third pot blueberries as such, in the fourth pot blueberries with turmeric,” Vitola said.

“It’s very similar to me, except that there can be another pot with chamomile, because then the eggs will be lighter, very light, light yellow. You can also have the new-fashioned way of coloring in red cabbage, but you have to soak those eggs in that cabbage. So you have to put boiled eggs the night before in that red cabbage soup and they will be bright green. It’s just that you have to take into account that there are some things that are boiled inside like that onion, and there are things where you dip, for example, the same cabbage, also in beet juice ,” Heimrath pointed out.

“Yes, but I will add about the blueberries, because it is my recipe. I open the cap of the blueberry jam two weeks in advance so that it ferments, then when I boil the eggs, it is completely black, blue-gray,” revealed Medene.

Eggs can be painted both plain and variegated.

“The best way to wrap the egg is in cheesecloth, because the cheesecloth lets all the soup through, and in turn, it may be a flower, it can be a leaf, it can be just a thread that is wrapped around the egg and then you put it all inside that cheesecloth bag and more wrap it with thread. Then, when you open it, you get a batik that is always a wonder, because you never know what will be there and what won’t be. Also, of course, you can add rice. You can’t add oatmeal or buckwheat, because it really goes well with porridge, but rice doesn’t. And sometimes, when you put an egg in that blueberry soup, it comes out as beautiful as a night egg with stars,” revealed Heimrāte.

“If gauze is not at home, then all year round, like onion skins, I save socks. Yes, me too! If I want to have some kind of bunny, chick or flower or something, I take the green leaf of a rose, cut it out with scissors , he leaves it completely white, like the leaf of a rose, she is waxy, so it is certain that the mark he puts on will be like that,” Vitola said.

“The main thing in coloring in order to have strong shells is salt, it must be added when boiling the eggs. (..) But do you know how you can get the kind of eggs that win egg battles? Well, then you have to color the goose egg. No, there is another catch. When you boil the eggs, the eggs must not stand in one position, you have to stir them all the time, raise them slowly, and then the so-called air bubble, which is inside, somehow breaks up, and then when you beat it, you always victory,” Medene knew how to explain.

Opinions differ on what kind of water the eggs should be placed in before boiling – hot or cold.

“But you know, those eggs, where those eggs are, they’re such a good swing! That’s why on the Great Day, we’ll swing joy, love, friendship for the whole year. Also by coloring eggs, because you can’t swing without eggs. If someone swings you, you have to give them an egg . But anyway, swinging is the main thing on the Big Day, not coloring eggs! The swing is the main thing,” said Medene.

Eggs can also be dyed in raspberry branches, aronia juice, St. John’s wort, birch leaves, sauna brooms or hay debris, spinach leaves, mint or rye spelt decoction, as well as spices – curry or turmeric.