Issues → May/June 2011 → Food →
Knowledge & Wisdom: Storing Excess Fresh Eggs
by R.M. Baon
A glut [of excess eggs from your chickens] in late spring and early summer can be used in the early fall. Old-timers sometimes preserved their surplus by packing eggs in sawdust, small ends down. Or they applied a protective coating of oil or grease and packed the eggs in bran and salt. One cookbook of the past century suggests using lime water for keeping eggs. This is done by mixing one pound slaked lime (hydrated lime) in one gallon boiling water. When cold, the mixture is poured over the eggs in a jar or crock. Place a saucer on top to keep the eggs submerged. Store in a cool place. Renew the lime water every three weeks.
—"Raising a Small Flock of Chickens for Home Use," by R. M. Bacon, May 1975
Reader Comments
Comment from marilyn on May 17, 2011
I can remember my mom leaving fresh eggs on the counter...Today that would be so dangerous.... I don\'t even think I would want to try the above information....somewhere along the way, things can go haywire....and some one might get sick....that is my own reasoning and I am sure you all are a lot smarter about eggs then I am .....
Comment from Chuck Cross on June 28, 2011
My mother used to keep our extra eggs in our root cellar for several weeks - cool and dark- and I can\'t remember a single instance of any of them going bad. I remeber my Grandfather talking about the sawdust method and my grandmother would complain of the sawdust all over the kitchen floor as he would replenish the wooden crate in the basement.
Comment from Ann Kennedy on May 10, 2012
I know that my grandparents used to mail eggs from MO to CT during the war when they were in short supply in NE. Amazing! Imagine trying that today from one household to another.
Comment from on May 10, 2012
During WW II I lived on a large farm. We had 200 laying hens and plenty of eggs. My parents placed the eggs in a large crock after thoroughly cleaning the shells. The eggs were then covered with "water glass" and stored in a cool place.
Back then the laying mash used to feed the laying hens came in a large cloth bag with an attractive print on the tight weaved cloth. When a laying mash bag became empty, my mother opened the seam forming the bag. After thoroughly washing, the bag became an attractive dish towel which lasted for a long time. Of course with more than 200 chickens, there was an adequate supply of those bags.
The older but still producing hens were slaughtered for meat and replaced with younger pullets. When eviscerating the old hens, my folks saved the imature eggs from the hen's ovaries. These morsels went into the chicken stew and were delicious additions that I still miss since I haven't had such a stew since we moved from the farm in the late forties. Like the pigs that were raised for meat, and used everything but the squeal of the pig, my folks didn't waste much from the chickens as well.
Comment from on May 10, 2012
May 10, 2012 comment mentioned eggs being placed in a crock and covered with "water glass" ....
What exactly is meant by that phrase? Please explain.
Thanks, Maureen
Comment from norman secrest on May 10, 2012
"Water glass" is sodium silicate, available from a pharmacy(order?) or a rural hardware, farm supply store. It seals the pores of the eggs. Easily for 6 months, maybe 2 years. The whites will get thinner but for scrambling or baking they can be just fine. Break them into a saucer/bowl to avoid a nasty surprise (NEVER seen that but heard stories), probably from less than fresh eggs that started out bad.
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