How To Dye Red Greek Easter Eggs

Red Greek Easter eggs in a white basket with mini pastel coloured eggs.

4.80 from 5 votes

How To Dye Red Greek Easter Eggs

Have you tried dyeing Greek red easter eggs? They're so easy to make and have a beautiful symbolic significance. Follow the simple steps, and you'll have some pretty red eggs to decorate your Easter table and play tsougrisma (Greek egg-cracking game).

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Additional Time1

Total Time1 20

Course: How to

Cuisine: Greek

Keyword: greek easter, red easter eggs

Servings: eggs

Calories: 72kcal

Author: Ria Mavrikos

Equipment

Deep pot or saucepan. It's best to use a saucepan or pot that is deep instead of too wide so that the water can fully cover the eggs
Slotted spoon
Mesh or stainless steel strainer

Ingredients

12 eggs fresh uncooked brown or white eggs - room temperature
5 cups water
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 small bottles of red food colouring 36 ml. / .27 fl oz.

Instructions

Boil the eggs. In a medium-sized saucepan, add cold water (about 5 cups of water) and then carefully place a dozen (12) raw eggs inside the pot in a single layer. Gradually bring the water to a boil on medium heat, then cover it with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Boil the eggs for 15 minutes. Place a strainer in the sink. Use a slotted spoon to carefully and gently place all of the eggs in the strainer. Rinse the eggs with cold water for a minute or so until the eggs have cooled completely to stop the cooking process.
Prepare the dye. Transfer the warm water to a large stainless steel bowl or leave the water in the pot but remove the pot from the heat. Add in two small bottles of red food colouring dye. Add two tablespoons of white vinegar. Stir together and then carefully place the cooked eggs in the food colouring for at least 15 minutes. The eggs should be fully submerged. You can stir occasionally, careful not to crack the eggs. The longer the eggs stay in the food colouring, the deeper red they will be.
Dry the eggs. Place a paper towel on a large plate. Use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs and place them on the paper towel to dry for at least 30 minutes. Once they're dry, pour a little bit of olive oil or vegetable oil on a paper towel or soft cloth and rub the eggs to create a beautiful shine.
Christos anesti! You now have beautiful red Greek Easter eggs to decorate your Easter table, play the egg cracking game (tsougrisma), or use them to decorate your tsoureki.

Notes

Use room-temperature fresh eggs to help prevent the eggs from cracking when boiling (remove them from the fridge a couple of hours before you use them).
When boiling the eggs, they should be in a single layer and not on top of each other.
White vinegar helps the colour of the red eggs become more vibrant colour however, you want to be careful with the amount of vinegar because too much vinegar will cause the eggs to become speckled.
The longer you let the eggs sit in the dye, the darker the colour will be. If you're looking for a dark, vibrant red, then you could let them soak in the fridge for an hour or two. The longer they sit in the dye, the darker the red colour.

Nutrition