Water-glassing fresh farm eggs is very easy, and today I will share how I do it. There are many detailed blogs on the web about the how and why of water-glassing eggs and how this age-old method can help add food security to your household. One of my favorite videos to watch is by Homesteading Family on Youtube about the process. She does an excellent job of explaining all the details you need to know!
What you need for water-glassing eggs:
- Pickling lime
- bottled spring water (you do not want to use chlorinated water, well water is fine)
- glass jars with well-fitting lids or a food-safe plastic bucket
- freshly laid, clean, unwashed eggs (NOT store-bought)
How to do water-glassing:
- Gather your freshly laid eggs and select the cleanest ones for water glassing. (This is important for sanitary reasons, please do not use eggs that have mud or chicken poop on them for water-glassing.)
- Mix the lime solution: 1 quart of spring water/2 heaping tablespoons of pickling lime. You will use this ratio anytime you need more solution to cover the eggs, no matter what sized container you use for storage. The eggs must always be covered by at least two inches of the solution to remain preserved.
- Put the solution in your container of choice. I have used gallon-sized jars and mason jars. I will most likely purchase a 5-gallon food bucket soon as well. For quart mason jars, I pour in about half of the solution and then add my eggs, then I top it off with more solution as needed to reach the 2 inches of coverage required.
- Put the lid on, date, and place it in a cool location in your pantry. That’s it!
- To use your eggs, you simply take out what you need and rinse well under water before using.
*** Some say that water-glassed eggs don’t do well as hard-boiled eggs. You can, however, use your water-glassed eggs for everything else- fried, scrambled, baked goods, etc. I haven’t noticed any taste or texture differences in my water-glassed eggs versus fresh eggs.
I hope this inspires you to try water-glassing eggs and adds to your home’s food security for the future!
When the egg crisis happened last year and earlier this year I was so very grateful to have eggs in my pantry. I have 5 children at home and a hard-working husband and the egg is a valuable part of our menu that we don’t like to be without!
My hens also stopped laying for an extended period last year due to a feed issue and it was a relief to have eggs available while we sorted it out and found a new feed for them. I couldn’t believe the prices of eggs in my grocery store and had we not had eggs on hand, we would have had to go without.
Knowing this method for preserving eggs has been a blessing that I hope will also help others. We can’t always know what will happen with our supply chain or the economy, but we CAN always prepare with what we do have. Now, go preserve some eggs!
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