Update on the egg storage experiment.........
From my March 29, 2021 post, we get an abundance of eggs in the spring, when the hens start back up after taking the winter off. I stored some eggs in half gallon mason jars covered in a water-calcium hydroxide ( pickling lime) solution.
This late winter and spring 2022, a year later, we have tried them out and find them to be fine for most things. They are quite edible, with no off taste that I could tell, ( and I'm still alive) but the consistency has changed a bit. The whites have a bit less body, and the yolks have a tendency to settle next to the shell, and sometimes stick to the shell a little. This means they are fine for scrambled eggs or baking, but are tricky to use if you want sunny side up fried eggs.
All in all, a success I'd say, and storage for a year is quite impressive. Again, these are unwashed, unrefrigerated eggs fresh from the hens, I don't know if store bought eggs would fare the same.
We have also been hand rolling egg noodles and drying them as another way to store eggs. Just this week, we used the pasta extrusion attachment on the KitchenAid, and the macaroni turned out pretty good. We ate some macaroni fresh, but have dried some also, and will see how they cook up later.
Hi Steve,
ReplyDeleteRespect. We also go through a deluge of eggs in spring through to mid summer when the chickens decide that it would be best if they moult. I'm intrigued by your storage experiment and can report that for fourteen hens I'm at one egg per day, which should pick up after the winter solstice in about two months. I too wonder about the store purchased eggs because those eggs are washed and that removes some of the protective coating and possibly makes the shells more porous. And good to hear that you survived the experiment! True old school science of the finest order! :-)
Cheers
Chris
Hi Chris;
ReplyDeleteWe sell/barter with a couple neighbors for some of our eggs, but they have to find other sources later when the ladies slow down. I will need to charge more next year, as feed cost, like many things, is rising, and I've actually done the math for our current costs. It's mind boggling how cheaply the big commercial egg farms can produce eggs. No fun for the hens, but then, all most care about is cheap food.
The storage process is very easy- try it! Not sure if it matters, but we stored them in our root cellar, so it was dark, with steady temperatures.
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