Did I ruin my jars of eggs by waterglassing incorrectly?

[mydaisy]

My girls are laying quite well this time of year and so I am waterglassing eggs for the winter, etc. However, I think I messed up by adding 1 oz pickling lime to 1 gallon of water instead of 1 oz pickling lime to 1 quart of water. It was about 2 months ago. Did I ruin the eggs? It was around 8 dozen in a couple of containers - I would hate to lose them.

I know I could probably check the eggs to see if they are good or bad, but I want to hear from experienced waterglassers or someone who can explain the science behind the ratio they use....

 

[saysfaa]

The ratio I followed had too much lime - way too much lime. I diluted it until it had only some lime settled out after shaking it. The eggs were still edible at least four months although the texture suffered. At six months, I ate three and didn't get sick but the texture was pretty disgusting. On the other hand, I think raw eggs left at room temperature can stay edible that long just setting on the counter - as long as the bloom is not washed or wiped off. They also lose texture long before they are inedible.

Possibly they could still be used in baking but I wasn't baking much so I used the rest to feed the tomatoes (one egg among the roots of each tomato transplant.

At this point, I can't remember why I thought the brine needs only be saturated; anything that settles out doesn't do anything. Since I can't remember where (or whether) I read it, I don't know how trustworthy the info is.

 

[mydaisy]

Thank you! That is very helpful to know your first-hand experience with it.
I feel like if an egg is bad - you’re going to know it’s bad right away, so I’ll proceed with caution and next time will read instructions better.

 

[Rusgerwana]

Thank you! That is very helpful to know your first-hand experience with it.
I feel like if an egg is bad - you’re going to know it’s bad right away, so I’ll proceed with caution and next time will read instructions better.

Your eggs should have been fine the way you prepared them.
Look for my explanation, under Rusgerwana, it will answer your questions about water glassing using pickling lime.

 

[nao57]

I think what you'll have to do is use small containers, to do experiments and then run like 3 batches at the same time in the small containers but with different ratios of lime, etc in each and then over time weigh out the taste results. THEN come back later after you finish experimenting so you can do the real batch in a big container later.

I do think this is a worthy experiment. We're headed for trouble. People in society don't want to share the world with the rest of us, and too many people want to get rich. The middle class is expiring also. So you can only really compensate with more DIY.

 

[mydaisy]

I think what you'll have to do is use small containers, to do experiments and then run like 3 batches at the same time in the small containers but with different ratios of lime, etc in each and then over time weigh out the taste results. THEN come back later after you finish experimenting so you can do the real batch in a big container later.

I do think this is a worthy experiment. We're headed for trouble. People in society don't want to share the world with the rest of us, and too many people want to get rich. The middle class is expiring also. So you can only really compensate with more DIY.

I opened them up a while back and they were definitely bad lol The smell was horrible. I made a couple more containers up the correct way and they are holding up.

I agree, never a bad thing to be prepared for anything.

 

[nao57]

I opened them up a while back and they were definitely bad lol The smell was horrible. I made a couple more containers up the correct way and they are holding up.

I agree, never a bad thing to be prepared for anything.

It is an education process. I feel like... rather than actually getting there in 1 shot, I'm ending up doing 1 experiment after another. And part of that is building confidence in being able to trust that whatever food or food systems I'm doing is safe. I'm also having to do food storage experiments.

I don't regret it though. I feel like I'm getting somewhere, though its not fast.