Water Glassing: Egg Preservation Experiment!

[radams]

I'm so glad I found this thread. Thank you for starting. My questions about giving the shells to the chickens and reusing the lime water were answered in the posts.
I tried preserving with this method last year when my hens were laying way more than we could eat. We had been selling our extra eggs but we always ended up buying eggs during the winter which I didn't like. Feeding chickens and buying eggs just seemed wrong.
My 15 layers were able to keep us in eggs until mid December but that came to a halt quickly. We still get 2 or three a day but we eat more than that. Its now over halfway through Jan '24 and we have finished off our first half gallon jar(about 15 eggs per jar) and haven't had a bad one yet. These eggs were from early August 2023, so about 5 months old. A little runnier and the yolks not as firm as others have said. However, they still taste much better than store bought and I know where they came from.
I will be doing this again this year but saving earlier and not selling extra eggs. The experiment in small scale egg selling proved not profitable and maybe not breaking even. Every extra egg will go in the jar for winter scrambles and omelets.
I doubt we will have any left to check for longevity, but if we do I will report back.

 

[RubyLady]

I used to water glass my eggs in hydrated lime but then discovered that the bloom on eggs isn't 100% coverage and lime or mineral oil or anything else that coats the eggs can seep slowly through where there's no bloom. And I kind of suspected because, to be honest, I could always smell a little something in the water glassed eggs that I didn't like plus after several months, most had soft yolks even though some still had firm ones.

So I switched to dehydrating fresh raw egg (within 3 days) or freezing eggs 2-3 in each freezer bag laid flat to freeze. But we have a very small fridge/freezer so mostly I dehydrate them and then vacuum seal them in mason jars. One half gallon jar fits 7 dozen whisked then dehydrated raw eggs. They last at least two years that way.

Too bad, though. I have a five pound bag of hydrated lime and don't use it anymore.

 

[AntiqueB]

I used to water glass my eggs in hydrated lime but then discovered that the bloom on eggs isn't 100% coverage and lime or mineral oil or anything else that coats the eggs can seep slowly through where there's no bloom. And I kind of suspected because, to be honest, I could always smell a little something in the water glassed eggs that I didn't like plus after several months, most had soft yolks even though some still had firm ones.

So I switched to dehydrating fresh raw egg (within 3 days) or freezing eggs 2-3 in each freezer bag laid flat to freeze. But we have a very small fridge/freezer so mostly I dehydrate them and then vacuum seal them in mason jars. One half gallon jar fits 7 dozen whisked then dehydrated raw eggs. They last at least two years that way.

Too bad, though. I have a five pound bag of hydrated lime and don't use it anymore.

How do you dehydrate?

 

[RubyLady]

I have dehydrated over the wood stove in cookie sheets lined with parchment paper (not my favorite only because the top of the wood stove is somewhat curved and that gets tricky. LOL

But otherwise I use silicone trays with edges so the liquid stays in in Nesco round dehydrators (I found two used) set at 115F. Half a dozen whisked eggs per round tray works for me.

Most people say things take 8-12 hours to dehydrate but honestly, I find it take about a day because we tend to be more humid.

Worth it though. I have 15 hens (two older though and 13 in their first lay) now and this spring we expect to see at least 5 dozen eggs a week or more (for two older people) which means I can dehydrate 4 dozen a week and get the pantry stocked up in case we lose the flock or for emergencies.

We had 11 hens and a rooster at the beginning of last summer and lost the rooster and 4 out of 5 spring hatched pullets by the end of summer. I got 10 more chicks who are 20 weeks now. You never know when something is going to happen to the flock so we're ramping up and getting those eggs planned.

My husband has chronic fatigue and the fresh eggs seem to be helping him so much. So we want a good bunch put by. We haven't had fresh eggs all winter and have had to buy.

 

[MamaPoult]

I want to try this, but I have a cock with my hens so I'm not certain how my potentially fertilized eggs would hold up.

Although, I guess there's no harm in trying.

Fertilized eggs are fine. We do it all the time! This is a graet method to preserve eggs!!

 

[tripletfeb]

I'm so glad I found this thread. Thank you for starting. My questions about giving the shells to the chickens and reusing the lime water were answered in the posts.
I tried preserving with this method last year when my hens were laying way more than we could eat. We had been selling our extra eggs but we always ended up buying eggs during the winter which I didn't like. Feeding chickens and buying eggs just seemed wrong.
My 15 layers were able to keep us in eggs until mid December but that came to a halt quickly. We still get 2 or three a day but we eat more than that. Its now over halfway through Jan '24 and we have finished off our first half gallon jar(about 15 eggs per jar) and haven't had a bad one yet. These eggs were from early August 2023, so about 5 months old. A little runnier and the yolks not as firm as others have said. However, they still taste much better than store bought and I know where they came from.
I will be doing this again this year but saving earlier and not selling extra eggs. The experiment in small scale egg selling proved not profitable and maybe not breaking even. Every extra egg will go in the jar for winter scrambles and omelets.
I doubt we will have any left to check for longevity, but if we do I will report back.

As to the longevity on water glassed eggs, I have eaten mine and they were over two years old. No issues with eating them as scrambled or used in baking

 

[TooCheep]

Good to know. I had always heard 18 months, but if it can go longer that means there is a large "margin of error".

 

[radams]

As to the longevity on water glassed eggs, I have eaten mine and they were over two years old. No issues with eating them as scrambled or used in baking

Thats good to know but I only saved 9 dozen and there's no way they will last that long. I'm hoping they will make it until the hens pick up again this spring.

 

[Australorpfamily]

I have dehydrated over the wood stove in cookie sheets lined with parchment paper (not my favorite only because the top of the wood stove is somewhat curved and that gets tricky. LOL

But otherwise I use silicone trays with edges so the liquid stays in in Nesco round dehydrators (I found two used) set at 115F. Half a dozen whisked eggs per round tray works for me.

Most people say things take 8-12 hours to dehydrate but honestly, I find it take about a day because we tend to be more humid.

Worth it though. I have 15 hens (two older though and 13 in their first lay) now and this spring we expect to see at least 5 dozen eggs a week or more (for two older people) which means I can dehydrate 4 dozen a week and get the pantry stocked up in case we lose the flock or for emergencies.

We had 11 hens and a rooster at the beginning of last summer and lost the rooster and 4 out of 5 spring hatched pullets by the end of summer. I got 10 more chicks who are 20 weeks now. You never know when something is going to happen to the flock so we're ramping up and getting those eggs planned.

My husband has chronic fatigue and the fresh eggs seem to be helping him so much. So we want a good bunch put by. We haven't had fresh eggs all winter and have had to buy.

How do you rehydrate the eggs?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

How do you rehydrate the eggs?

See post #214.