Bohemian Easter Eggs

Designs Fishbone Crown of Thorns Crown of Thorns Crown of Thorns Crown of Thorns Cross Palm Branch Pussy Willow Robe Star Sun Wheat and Grapes (Bread and Wine) World Without End       This method of making Czech Easter Eggs (Kraslice) was passed down from my Grandmother, Bozena (Bessie) Kuchynka Koktavy, a 2nd generation Bohemian immigrant to the U.S. The designs are much less delicate than the Czech eggs that I've seen. Bessie would decorate hundreds of eggs with a kitchen match and then hard-cook the eggs in a brown dye made from onion skins.                                                                                      Ingredients / Supplies A bag full of yellow (Spanish) onion skins - One or two days take of skins from the local grocery store will be enough. Most stores will stock the onions once a day at a particular time. Whenever stocking them, they always end up with a lot of loose skins that they throw away. Just ask the produce manager what time they stock onions so you can drop by and pick them up or if they can save them for you. It might take a couple of trips to coordinate, so plan early. Bee's wax - Bee's was from the market. Paraffin will work just fine. shallow metal container - My grandmother used an aluminum margarine container. Try a tuna can or soda can cut in half. Large kitchen matchsticks - Light the match and extinguish immediately. The larger black end is used for application of the wax. For more delicate decorating you can use a pencil with a flat head dressmaker sewing pin stuck into the eraser. A goose feather pen could also be used. Even more elaborate designs are done by adhering straw to the eggs.                 Eggs - white eggs are a good idea so there is a contrast. Prepare the dye - In a large (6-8 quart) pot bring water and onion skins to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, continuing to reduce the liquid and adding more water as needed for 3 hours or so. You will want enough liquid to cover all of your eggs completely. Strain removing the onion skins, saving the reddish-brown liquid. Be careful to remove all onion skin residue from the liquid. Allow the liquid to cool to room temperature. Clean the eggs - Wipe them with vinegar. Remove any spots noting that fingerprints will easily mark the eggs, preventing the dye from penetrating the egg. Decorate the eggs - Place the wax in a small metal container on very low heat. The wax should be liquid, but should be prevented from boiling. Decorate the raw eggs by dipping the burnt end of the kitchen match into the liquid wax and quickly dragging the end of the match across the egg. There's only one way to learn the timing and strokes necessary to leave the right amount of wax on the egg. Practice makes perfect. Boil the eggs - Follow standard recipe for hard-boiled eggs.

Bessie (Bozena Kuchynka) Koktavy