PRESERVED OR "CANNED" EGGS
As one-half of the yearly egg crop is produced in March, April, May
and June consumers would do well to store enough at that time to use
when production is light. Fifty dozen eggs should be stored for a
family of five to use during the months of October, November, December
and January, at which time the market price of eggs is at the highest.
When canning them _the eggs must be fresh_, preferably not more than
two or three days old. This is the reason why it is much more
satisfactory to put away eggs produced in one's own chicken yard or
one's neighbor's.
Infertile eggs are best if they can be obtained--so, after the
hatching exclude the roosters from the flock and kill them for table
use as needed.
_The shells must be clean._ Washing an egg with a soiled shell lessens
its keeping quality. The protective gelatinous covering over the shell
is removed by water and when this is gone the egg spoils more rapidly.
Use the soiled eggs for immediate use and the clean ones for storage.
_The shells also must be free from even the tiniest crack._ One
cracked egg will spoil a large number of sound eggs when packed in
water glass.
Earthenware crocks are good containers. _The crocks must be clean and
sound._ Scald them and let them cool completely before use. A crock
holding six gallons will accommodate eighteen dozen eggs and about
twenty-two pints of solution. Too large crocks are not desirable,
since they increase the liability of breaking some of the eggs, and
spoiling the entire batch.
It must be remembered that the eggs on the bottom crack first and that
those in the bottom of the crock are the last to be removed for use.
Eggs can be put up in smaller crocks and the eggs put in the crock
first should be used first in the household.
METHOD OF STORING
There are many satisfactory methods of storing eggs. The commercial
method is that of cold storage and if it were not for this method
winter eggs would be beyond the average purse.
The fact that eggs have been held in cold storage does not necessarily
mean that they are of low quality. Carefully handled cold-storage eggs
often are of better quality than fresh local eggs that have been
improperly cared for.
In the home they may be packed by several methods: Salt, oats or bran;
covering them with vaseline, butter, lard, paraffin or prepared
ointments; immersion in brine, salicylic acid, water glass (sodium
silicate) or limewater.
Any of these methods will keep the eggs for short periods if stored in
a cool place. The salt, oats and bran are very satisfactory. The
ointments also are satisfactory. The water glass and limewater will
keep eggs without loss for a year. However, it is not wise to put down
more eggs than is necessary to tide over the period of high price.
WATER GLASS METHOD
"Water glass" is known to the chemist as sodium silicate. It can be
purchased by the quart from druggists or poultry supply men. It is a
pale yellow, odorless, sirupy liquid. It is diluted in the proportion
of one part of silicate to nine parts of distilled water, rain water,
or other water. _In any case, the water should be boiled and then
allowed to cool._ Half fill the vessel with this solution and place
the eggs in it, being careful not to crack them. The eggs can be added
a few at a time until the container is filled. Be sure to keep about
two inches of water glass above the eggs. Cover the crock to prevent
evaporation and place it in the coolest place available from which the
crock will not have to be moved. Wax paper covered over and tied
around the top of the crock can be used. Inspect the crock from time
to time and replace any water that has evaporated with cool boiled
water.
LIMEWATER METHOD
Limewater is also satisfactory for preserving eggs and is slightly
less expensive than water glass. A solution is made by placing two or
three pounds of unslaked lime in five gallons of water, which has been
boiled and allowed to cool, and allowing the mixture to stand until
the lime settles and the liquid is clear. The eggs should be placed in
a clean earthenware jar or other suitable vessel and covered to a
depth of two inches with the liquid. Remove the eggs as desired, rinse
in clean, cold water and use immediately.
If using the limewater method add a little of the lime sediment to
insure a constantly saturated solution. If a thin white crust appears
on the limewater solution it is due to the formation of calcium
carbonate coming in contact with the air and consequently does no
harm.
CANDLING EGGS AT HOME
If you purchase the eggs that are to be stored it is safer to candle
them. Examining eggs to determine their quality is called "candling."
Every one knows that some eggs are better than others, but the ease
with which the good ones can be picked out is not generally
understood. The better the quality of eggs, the surer the housewife
can be that they will keep satisfactorily.
HOMEMADE CANDLER
The equipment for candling usually consists of either a wooden, a
metal, or a cardboard box and a kerosene lamp or an electric light. A
very inexpensive egg candler for home use can be made from a large
shoe-box or similar cardboard box. Remove the ends of the box, and cut
a hole about the size of a half-dollar in one side. Slip the box over
the lamp or electric bulb, darken the room, hold the egg, with the
large end up, before the opening in the box and its quality can easily
be judged.
SIGNS OF A GOOD EGG
When held before the opening of the candle, good eggs will look clear
and firm. The air cell (the white spot at the large end of the eggs)
should be small, not larger than a dime, and the yolk may be dimly
seen in the center of the egg. A large air cell and a dark, freely
moving yolk indicate that the egg is stale.
If the shell contents appear black or very dark, the egg is
absolutely unfit for food. If you are in doubt about the quality of
any eggs you are candling break a few of them into a dish and examine
them. This is an excellent way to learn to know how good and bad eggs
look when they are being candled.
Discard all eggs that have shrunken, loose contents, a watery
appearance, cracked and thin shells. Eggs of this description will not
keep and are apt to spoil the eggs close around them. Any egg that
floats in the solution should be discarded.
When packing eggs whether in salt, oats, or in solution place them
with small end down. When packing them in salt, oats, etc., do not
allow any two eggs to touch.
PACKING THE EGGS
One gallon of water glass as purchased will make enough preservative
to preserve from 75 to 100 dozen eggs.
Three gallons of either water glass solution or limewater solution
will preserve from 200 to 240 dozen eggs according to the size of the
eggs and the shape of the container.
The cost of preserving eggs by the water glass method is about one
cent per dozen eggs, not considering the cost of the container. The
lime water method is still cheaper.
The following gives the sizes of jars with approximate capacity for
eggs and the amount of water glass solution required to cover the
eggs:
1 gallon jar--40 eggs, 3½ pints of solution or 1¾ qt.
2 gallon jar--80 eggs, 8 pints of solution or 2 quarts.
3 gallon jar--120 eggs, 11 pints of solution or 5½ quarts.
4 gallon jar--160 eggs, 14½ pints of solution or 7¼ quarts.
5 gallon jar--200 eggs, 18 pints of solution or 9 quarts.
6 gallon jar--216 eggs, 22 pints of solution or 11 quarts.
10 gallon jar--400 eggs, 36 pints of solution or 18 quarts.
HOW TO USE PRESERVED EGGS
When the eggs are to be used, remove them as desired, rinse in clean,
cold water, and use immediately.
Eggs preserved in water glass can be used for soft boiling or poaching
up to November. Before boiling such eggs prick a tiny hole in the
large end of the shell with a needle to keep them from cracking, as
the preservative seals the pores of the shell and prevents the escape
of gases, which is possible in the strictly fresh egg.
They are satisfactory for frying until about December. From that time
until the end of the usual storage period--that is until March--they
can be used for omelettes, scrambled eggs, custards, cakes and general
cookery. As the eggs age, the white becomes thinner and is harder to
beat. The yolk membrane becomes more delicate and it is
correspondingly difficult to separate the whites from the yolks.
Sometimes the white of the egg is tinged pink after very long keeping
in water glass. This is due, probably, to a little iron which is in
the sodium silicate, but which apparently does not injure the eggs for
food purposes.