Have you ever wondered how to preserve eggs?
Maybe you found a great sale on eggs at the supermarket. Or maybe, like us, you have some pretty productive chickens.
Unless you have a large family and you eat eggs for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, it doesn't take long to find yourself with more eggs than you can use fresh.
If you're looking for ways to preserve your eggs for longer, you're in the right place. These five ways to preserve eggs will help you make the most of your egg stock right now. And they'll help to provide for your family later when eggs are not as plentiful.
5 Ways to Preserve Eggs
In North America, when you buy commercially grown eggs, they're usually stored in the refrigerated section. That's because their bloom has been washed away.
The bloom is the protective layer that coats the egg when it is laid.
How to Preserve Eggs in Oil
One way to make eggs last longer is to replace the bloom that was washed away.
This can be done with mineral oil or shortening. While I haven't tried this myself, people I've talked to say they've been successful using this method to preserve eggs and keep them fresh for weeks.
I suspect that preserving eggs in mineral oil or shortening may work best when the weather is cool and the risk of spoiling is lower.
And make sure that every bit of the egg has been fully coated with the oil or shortening.
And by the way, have you had a chance to check out Lehman's Hardware Store (affiliate link)? This is one of our favorite sites for quality, Amish-made homestead tools and supplies at great prices
Water glassing eggs
What is water glassing?
Water glassing eggs is one of the easiest and best options for preserving eggs for the long term.
We tried this earlier this summer when we were getting 20+ eggs a day from our laying hens. (Too much for our family - feeding five adults and two children daily.) And when I was researching how to preserve eggs without using a fridge, water glassing kept turning up in my search results.
It's important to note that water glassing can't be done with store-bought eggs. And that the eggs must be fresh without being washed, so that the bloom remains intact.
The bloom that is naturally on the eggs helps protect the eggs from going bad for several weeks. In the event the egg is fertilized, the chick has time to form and grow before the egg starts to rot and break down. If
Water glassing eggs is easy to do. And it's the ideal way to preserve fresh eggs for the long term.
How to Water Glass Eggs Using Pickling Lime
To water glass eggs you need pickling lime, filtered or distilled water, and a storage container with a lid. Try a 5-gallon bucket.
This simple method allows you to protect the eggs from bacteria that cause the break down of the eggs. It helps to avoid spoiling by encasing the eggs in a liquid lime solution.
To mix your lime solution mix 1 oz of lime to 1 quart of water. Going over the ratio with more lime will not harm your eggs. However, not using enough lime can harm them. So be careful! Weigh the lime and err on the side of caution if you do not have a scale. Add more than you think you need.
Place fresh unwashed eggs into your container and add the solution. If you have space you can always add more fresh eggs to the container daily. We might do this if our chickens continue to produce more than we can use or sell.
The eggs can stay in the lime for up to 2 years. That is, providing no eggs crack to cause spoilage. Avoid moving your water-glassed eggs. Also avoid adding too many eggs to the container. This could put the bottom eggs under too much pressure and cause them to crack.
Water glassing eggs is not pickling eggs. This method of how to preserve eggs leaves them nearly as fresh as when you placed them in the lime. So go ahead and use them just like fresh eggs come winter. We do this when produce less as it helps save money on purchasing eggs from the store.
How to Preserve Eggs by Freezing
Yes, you can freeze eggs for use in the future. However, I personally find that they are best used for baking when preserved this way.
For freezing eggs, you have several options, including cracking the eggs into an ice cube tray and freezing them before moving into an air-tight container.
Another option is to scramble the eggs without cooking before freezing them in an ice cube tray, then thawing them to use that way.
If you like to use egg whites in your baking, you should separate the egg whites from the yolks before freezing. Otherwise, they get too watery to easily separate after thawing.
Once your eggs are frozen, seal them in an air-tight container. The best thing you can do for keeping your eggs in the freezer?
Vacuum seal them. This keeps all air out. It also helps to prevent the slimy texture frozen egg whites tend to take on when exposed to air in the freezer. This is why most people opt to avoid freezing eggs but with a quality vacuum sealer you can get around this common problem.
If you like a specific type of cooked egg and want to make your life easier try cooking scrambled eggs, omelettes, egg breakfast burritosand quiches in bulk. Then freeze in single servings for quick and easy breakfasts.
Yes, you can Dehydrate Eggs!
Are interested in securing your family's food supply for the long-term?Or maybe you're building a prepper pantry. If so, you'll be happy to know you can dehydrate eggs to store as a powder for long-term storage. This is great for emergency kits and camping trips as well.
To rehydrate and cook your eggs, simply add water. Then let them sit for 20 minutes or so before using in baking, scrambled, eggs, even omelettes without having to worry about keeping fresh eggs.
To dehydrate eggs, crack them into a bowl and whisk together before pouring them carefully onto a fruit leather tray.
Run the dehydrator at 140 degrees for 8 to 10 hours. Stir the eggs occasionally as they begin to dry to help improve the drying consistency.
Break into chunks and place into a jar for conditioning before using a blender or coffee grinder to create an egg powder.
Vaseline Eggs for Preservation
I happened to have a chat with my aunt when we were looking for ways to start preserving our eggs. She recalled her mother (my grandmother) preserving eggs without a fridge 40 years ago when Grandma and Grandad lived on their boat and sailed around the Caribbean, Florida Keys and the Carolina coasts.
What Grandma and Grandad did was to carefully coat each egg with Vaseline. The theory is similar to preserving eggs with shortening or mineral oil. The Vaseline acts like the bloom. It fills in any fissures or cracks in the eggs and prevents bacteria which could cause the egg to rot.
Now I haven't found any reference to this online or in my collection of old cookbooks. However, Grandma and Grandad preserved their eggs using Vaseline for at least a couple of years.
While Grandad passed away over 25 years ago, Grandma celebrated her 102nd birthday in 2020. So it didn't seem to harm her any!
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Miz Helen
This is great information for preserving eggs. Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday and come back soon!
Miz Helen