by Kelli Bowen
We decided to have yard chickens this past spring. We started with six chicks, figuring we’d lose a couple, due to weather or chickens being chickens. Then we went into a chicken babysitting/foster care situation, which turned into a foster-adopt situation. Guys - we have some of the heartiest birds. They all survived, thrived, and are now in egg production.
Our industrious ladies are cranking out four to seven eggs a day. We love eggs, but that’s more than we can handle.
I started googling egg storage and came across egg glassing, also called water glassing. In my forty-something years on this earth, I didn’t know, so I’m going to share with you.
First of all: eggs have a protective layer on them when they’re laid called the bloom. If the bloom is undisturbed, eggs can be kept on a shelf. They’ll stay good for two weeks to a month that way. If the egg is washed, the bloom goes with it, then into the refrigerator they must go. They’ll keep in there for two months. If you put unwashed eggs in the refrigerator, they’ll keep for three to six months.
The moral of the story: don’t wash your farm-fresh eggs. They’ll last longer. Do keep your nesting box clean; that will keep straw, dirt, and poo to a minimum. We have a collection rule: dirty eggs go in a carton, clean eggs go in a jar.
There is a third egg storage option we have begun: egg glassing. By taking a glass jar, some filtered (I used distilled) water, and pickling lime, we can keep our eggs shelf-stable for 6-18 months!
To water glass, take a crop of unwashed yet clean eggs and place in a container that can seal. Some people use buckets. I use a half gallon jar; this holds 2-3 dozen of our eggs. Fill the jar with a solution of 3 ounces pickling lime to one quart distilled water and fill the jar, close the jar, put on a shelf, and ta da.
Make sure there are no cracks as the pickling lime adheres to the exterior of the egg, and if the egg is cracked, the lime can get inside the egg, which sounds unpleasant.
The only watch-out I’ve found to eating water glassed eggs is that with the shell sealed, you can’t boil the eggs as-is (they’ll pop) so a person must prick a hole or two in the shell to release the pressure if making boiled eggs. Other than that, eggs can be prepared and enjoyed like normal. All winter long!
How do you like your eggs? I like mine fried, poached, scotched, scrambled…
Kelli, a North Dakota girl through and through, has made her home from the eastern prairies to the western badlands with her supportive Hubby, two daughters, and ever-growing menagerie accompanying her along the way.
Who's the idiot who wanted to move?