# How to store eggs without refrigeration



## SouthCentralUS (Nov 11, 2012)

Of course I have never done any of this and am not recommending any of it but questions have been asked concerning preserving eggs and these are some methods from 1920.

This is from the book “Every Step in Canning” by Grace Viall Gray, published 1920.
Chapter XVII
PRESERVED OR CANNED EGGS
As one-half of the yearly egg crop is produced in March, April, May and June consumers would do well to store enough at that time to use when production is light. Fifty dozen eggs should be stored for a family of five to use during the months of October, November, December and January, at which time the market price of eggs is at the highest.
When canning them the eggs must be fresh, preferably not more than two or three days old. This is the reason why it is much more satisfactory to put away eggs produced in one’s own chicken yard or one’s neighbor’s.
Infertile eggs are best if they can be obtained – so, after the hatching exclude the roosters from the flock and kill them for table use as needed.
The shells must be clean. Washing an egg with a soiled shell lessens its keeping quality. The protective gelatinous covering over the shell is removed by water and when this is gone the egg spoils more rapidly. Use the soiled eggs for immediate use and the clean ones for storage.
The shells also must be free from even the tiniest crack. One cracked egg will spoil a large number of sound eggs when packed in water glass.
Earthenware crocks are good containers. The crocks must be clean and sound. Scald them and let them cool completely before use. A crock holding six gallons will accommodate eighteen dozen eggs and about twenty-two pints of solution. Too large crocks are not desirable, since they increase the liability of breaking some of the eggs, and spoiling the entire batch.
It must be remembered that the eggs on the bottom crack first and that those in the bottom of the crock are the last to be removed for use. Eggs can be put up in smaller crocks and the eggs put in the crock first should be used first in the household.
METHOD OF STORING
There are many satisfactory methods of storing eggs. The commercial method is that of cold storage and if it were not for this method winter eggs would be beyond the average person.
The fact that eggs have been held in cold storage does not necessarily mean that they are of low quality. Carefully handled cold-storage eggs often are of better quality that fresh local eggs that have been improperly cared for.
In the home they may be packed by several methods: Salt, oats or bran; covering them with Vaseline, butter, lard, paraffin or prepared ointments; immersion in brine, salicylic acid, water glass (sodium silicate) or limewater.
Any of these methods will keep the eggs for short periods if stored in a cool place. The salt, oats and bran are very satisfactory. The ointments also are satisfactory. The water glass and limewater will keep eggs without loss for a year. However, it is not wise to put down more eggs than is necessary to tide over the period of high price.
WATER GLASS METHOD
“Water glass” is known to the chemist as sodium silicate. It can be purchased by the quart from druggists or poultry supply men. It is a pale yellow, odorless, syrupy liquid. It is diluted in the proportion of one part of silicate to nine parts of distilled water, rain water, or other water. In any case, the water should be boiled and then allowed to cool. Half fill the vessel with this solution and place the eggs in it, being careful not to crack them. The eggs can be added a few at a time until the container if filled. Be sure to keep about two inches of water glass above the eggs. Cover the crock to prevent evaporation and place it in the coolest place available from which the crock will not have to be moved. Wax paper covered over and tied around the top of the crock can be used. Inspect the crock from time to time and replace any water that has evaporated with cool boiled water.
LIMEWATER METHOD
Limewater is also satisfactory for preserving eggs and is slightly less expensive than water glass. A solution is made by placing two or three pounds of unslaked lime in five gallons of water, which has been boiled and allowed to cool, and allowing the mixture to stand until the lime settles and the liquid is clear. The eggs should be placed in a clean earthenware jar or other suitable vessel and covered to a depth of two inches with the liquid. Remove the eggs as desired, rinse in clean, cold water and use immediately.
If using the limewater method, add a little of the lime sediment to insure a constantly saturated solution. If a thin white crust appears on the limewater solution it is due to the formation of calcium carbonate coming in contact with the air and consequently does no harm.
CANDLING EGGS AT HOME
If you purchase eggs that are to be stored it is safer to candle them. Examining eggs to determine their quality is called candling. Everyone knows that some eggs are better than others, but the ease with which the good ones can be picked out is not generally understood. The better the quality of eggs, the surer the housewife can be that they will keep satisfactorily.
HOME MADE CANDLER
The equipment for candling usually consists of either a wooden, a metal, or a cardboard box and a kerosene lamp or an electric light. A very inexpensive egg candler for home use can be made from a large shoe box or similar cardboard box. Remove the ends of the box, and cut a hole about the size of a half dollar in one side. Slip the box over the lamp or electric bulb, darken the room, hold the egg with the large end up before the opening in the box and its quality can easily be judged.
SIGNS OF A GOOD EGG
When held before the opening of the candle, good eggs will look clear and firm. The air cell (the white spot at the large end of the eggs) should be small, not larger than a dime, and the yolk may be dimly seen in the center of the egg. A large air cell and a dark, freely moving yolk indicate that the egg is stale.
If the shell contents appear black or very dark, the egg is absolutely unfit for food. If you are in doubt about the quality of any eggs you are candling break a few of them into a dish and examine them. This is an excellent way to learn to know how good and bad eggs look when they are being candled.
Discard all eggs that have shrunken, loose contents, a watery appearance, cracked and thin shells. Eggs of this description will not keep and are apt to spoil the eggs close around them. Any egg that floats in the solution should be discarded.
When packing eggs whether in salt, oats or in a solution, place them with small end down. When packing them in salt, oats, etc, do not allow any two eggs to touch.
PACKING THE EGGS
One gallon of water glass as purchased will make enough preservative to preserve from 75 to 100 dozen eggs.
Three gallons of either water glass solution or limewater solution will preserve from 200 to 240 dozen eggs according to the size of the eggs and the shape of the container.
The cost of preserving eggs by the water glass method is about one cent per dozen eggs, not considering the cost of the container. The limewater method is still cheaper.
The following gives the sizes of jars with approximate capacity for eggs and the amount of water glass solution to cover the eggs:
1 gallon jar – 40 eggs, 3 ½ pints of solution or 1 ¾ quarts 
2 gallon jar – 80 eggs, 8 pints of solution or 2 quarts
3 gallon jar – 120 eggs, 11 pints of solution or 5 ½ quarts
4 gallon jar – 160 eggs, 14 ½ pints of solution or 7 ¼ quarts
5 gallon jar – 200 eggs, 18 pints of solution or 9 quarts
6 gallon jar – 216 eggs, 22 pints of solution or 11 quarts
10 gallon jar – 400 eggs, 36 pints of solution or 18 quarts
HOW TO USE PRESERVED EGGS
When the eggs are to be used, remove them as desired, rinse in clean, cold water, and use immediately.
Eggs preserved in water glass can be used for soft boiling or poaching up to November. Before boiling such eggs prick a tiny hole in the large end of the shell with a needle to keep them from cracking, as the preservative seals the pores of the shell and prevents the escape of gases, which is possible in the strictly fresh egg.
They are satisfactory for frying until about December. From that time until the end of the usual storage period – that is until March – they can be used for omelets, scrambled eggs, custards, cakes and general cookery. As the eggs age, the white becomes thinner and is harder to beat. The yolk membrane becomes more delicate and it is correspondingly difficult to separate the whites from the yolks. Sometimes the white of the egg is tinged pink after very long keeping in water glass. This is due, probably, to a little iron which is in the sodium silicate, but which apparently does not injure the eggs for food purposes.


----------



## IlliniWarrior (Nov 30, 2010)

water glass method will give the best results with the longest storage longevity ..... instead of crocks, the modern equivalent is an insulated pop cooler .... not mentioned is the need to do a 180 degree flip the eggs on a regular basis .... if you place the eggs in cartons, the entire carton can be immersed in the water glass ..... it protects the eggs from cracking and makes the regular egg flip easzier ....


----------

