Culinary Delights

Crafting Pišanice - Serbian Easter Eggs with Natural Dyes

Discover the joy of creating traditional Serbian Orthodox Easter eggs using natural dyes and botanicals. This is a lovely activity that families can enjoy together. Steeped in cultural tradition and the quiet beauty of nature, Serbian Easter eggs, known as pišanice, are a cherished part of Orthodox Easter celebrations, symbolizing renewal, the joy of spring, and the resurrection of Christ. Using simple ingredients like onion skins, cabbage, and botanicals, you can craft these eggs with a sense of connection to both nature and heritage.

"Pišanice" pronounced pee-SHAH-nee-tseh (or "pišanica" pee-SHAH-nee-tsah in singular), is a term used in Serbian for decorated Easter eggs, particularly within the context of Orthodox traditions. It derives from the Slavic root "pisati," meaning "to write" or "to decorate," and refers to eggs adorned with patterns, dyes, or designs—often using natural materials such as onion skins, cabbage leaves or wax-resist techniques.

What You Will Need

Gather a few basic items—most of which you might already have at home:

Fresh eggs (white eggs show colors best, but brown works too)
Yellow onion skins (the papery outer layers, about a large handful per dozen eggs)
Red cabbage (a small head, chopped roughly)
Botanicals: small leaves, flowers, or herbs like parsley, dill, or clover (fresh or dried)
Old pantyhose, cheesecloth or rags torn into 1" strips (to wrap the eggs)
Twine or rubber bands
Water, vinegar, and a couple of pots
A bit of patience and curiosity

There is no need to rush—this process unfolds slowly, like a good story.

How Serbian Immigrants Made an Ohio Town the ‘Fried Chicken Capital of the World’

From Vojvodina, with lard.
by Luke Fater, January 30, 2020

You can only try pahovana piletina in two places. One is Vojvodina, Serbia, where the unique style of fried chicken was born. The other is Ohio, where “Barberton-style fried chicken,” as it’s known there, became one small town’s claim to fame. What started as a comforting meal for an immigrant family came to define a community, turning a humble Ohio town into the “Fried Chicken Capital of the World.”

Smiljka and Manojlo Topalsky weren’t the only Eastern Europeans to leave home for a burgeoning Ohio farm-town called Barberton in the early 1900s. Their grandson, Milos Papich, points out that one of the oldest Serbian social clubs in the country is there, an hour south of Akron. The emigrated family owned a successful 300-acre dairy farm for decades.

During the Great Depression, though, the Topalskys lost everything but the farmhouse. Luckily, Smiljka could still cook.

On July 4th, 1933, the Topalskys opened an eatery out of that farmhouse. They called it Belgrade Gardens, and sold soups, chillis, and sandwiches to their struggling neighbors. “But it wasn’t enough to raise a family,” Papich says over the phone. One day, the story goes, Smiljka was in the back cooking a classic Serbian chicken dish for her family that she’d learned from her mother. After it caught the nose of one outspoken bank-teller, says Papich, he demanded they sell it to their regulars—a mishmash of recently immigrated Eastern Europeans who longed for a taste of home.

Once they had a taste, they couldn’t get enough. The chicken became an overnight hit among town denizens, and love of Smiljka’s fried chicken wove itself into the fabric of the community. “It kind of fell into their lap,” says Papich. “My grandparents never would have dreamed that the food they grew up with would be so well-received.”

Within seven years of putting Serbian fried chicken on their farmhouse menu, the Topalskys were able to buy back 65 acres of land from the bank, says Papich, current owner of 87-year-old Belgrade Gardens. The restaurant stayed with the family as much as pahovana piletina stays with Barberton. And to the purists in this still chicken-smitten town, Smiljka’s original dish is all but scripture.