Now in time of plenty, gather and store for times of want.

[Mrs. K]

I am getting almost an egg/ hen a day, give or take. Now is the time to store those eggs. I have done freezing stored eggs in quart bags, I have stirred 12 eggs and dividing them in muffin tins, and freezing eggs for baking that way. Last year, I put up 4 1/2 gallon pickle jars with water glassing. And for the first winter in a long time...I did not buy eggs. Some people have the room to keep them in the fridge, and they last a long time that way too.

Now is the time to put some excess away for the winter. Generally anything over a year old, will molt and take quite a break from laying. The older they are, the longer the break.

What I have found is generally I will get a few pieces of gold all winter, those are my highly guarded table eggs. However, with the stored eggs, I can make scrambled eggs and bake, eking out the few fresh eggs I get.

I have one gallon tucked away. Another gallon is almost full, it will be full tomorrow, now is the time to save some precious eggs.

Mrs K

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Have you ever water glassed them? I was thinking about doing it this year but I’ve never tried it

 

[Mrs. K]

Yes, I did last year. I was pleased. They worked fine for baking or for scrambled eggs. However, open each egg separately into a small bowl, then add to the recipe. I didn't have a bad one, but they are in storage for a long time. I used the last of mine up early May.

They say you can store them for 18 months - but truthfully I just need them for the dark days of winter.

 

[SemiSweet2391]

At risk of asking a dumb question here, but I fear I must ask it: how do you freeze eggs? Like, is there anything special prep wise you need to do?

 

[Mrs. K]

Well yes there is. Do not freeze them in the shell. Just give them a soft stir to scramble. My old cook book says to add 1 tsp of sugar to baking eggs, or 1/2 tsp salt for scrambled eggs.

Then sometimes I pour 12 eggs into a gallon bag - then if my family comes home, I can make a big pot of scrambled eggs. Or sometimes I divide them up equally into a muffin tin, freeze that, then pop them out and bag them. Then if you are making cookies, well you can reach in and get 2 'eggs' or muffins.

Mrs K

 

[SemiSweet2391]

Well yes there is. Do not freeze them in the shell. Just give them a soft stir to scramble. My old cook book says to add 1 tsp of sugar to baking eggs, or 1/2 tsp salt for scrambled eggs.

Then sometimes I pour 12 eggs into a gallon bag - then if my family comes home, I can make a big pot of scrambled eggs. Or sometimes I divide them up equally into a muffin tin, freeze that, then pop them out and bag them. Then if you are making cookies, well you can reach in and get 2 'eggs' or muffins.

Mrs K

Awesome, thank you!

 

[tripletfeb]

I've been water glassing eggs for years. The longest I've kept them and had them still be good is two years. I actually have about a dozen on the counter that need to be put in the jar, will do that tomorrow

 

[C Siena]

I also dehydrate in addition to the water glassing. Same premise but last longer, years. I reconstitute them by adding about 2 Tbl of water to 1 Tbl of dried eggs. Work great for baking and for scrambled or quiche, I use 4-5 dehydrated eggs with 4 fresh eggs and we cannot tell the difference.

I did this for long term preservation. Also, we do not have the room in the freezer. I'm not sure frozen eggs would taste as well after 9-12 months. The dehydrated last years.

 

[tripletfeb]

I also dehydrate in addition to the water glassing. Same premise but last longer, years. I reconstitute them by adding about 2 Tbl of water to 1 Tbl of dried eggs. Work great for baking and for scrambled or quiche, I use 4-5 dehydrated eggs with 4 fresh eggs and we cannot tell the difference.

I did this for long term preservation. Also, we do not have the room in the freezer. I'm not sure frozen eggs would taste as well after 9-12 months. The dehydrated last years.

I've thought of doing this as well but haven't yet. To dehydrate, do you just scramble them, then put the raw, runny eggs on the dehydrator trays? At what temp?

 

[C Siena]

I've thought of doing this as well but haven't yet. To dehydrate, do you just scramble them, then put the raw, runny eggs on the dehydrator trays? At what temp?

Correct, mix the raw eggs, pour onto the tray (we purchased silicon trays for the dehydrator). I will look up the temperature we used, I think it was 130/135. The center of the tray did not dry as quickly/the same time, as the outer edges. We would remove what was dry, turn over the not quite dry area, and return the tray to complete.

When blending, I used a coffee mill, so it would be fine powder. Then I would dry the powder again for another hour. I'm not sure one has to do this, but it has worked for us and has remained dry.

When finished, the powder goes into a pint jar, with O2 absorber and vac sealed. I have used them recently and they are 2 years old. When I remove some for cooking/baking, I vac seal the jar again. If I am going to use some within the next week/10 days, I will just put the powder in a separate jar and not worry about the vac seal for the small amount.