“Do you have eggs?”
“Does anyone know of a farmer whose eggs are cheaper than what you can buy at the store? I gave $6.00 a dozen yesterday!”
“Mine aren’t laying either.”
It is the beginning of winter 2022 and the shortage of eggs is being felt nationwide as the Avian Flu is cleaning out chicken house after chicken house and daylight is as scarce as a hen’s teeth.
What does one do to avoid an egg crisis?
Water glassing! This is a practice that was used up until the 40s and 50s when there was no electricity. I was amazed that I had never heard of it from my mom or my grandmother!
What is water glassing?
In the springtime when the chickens (and the neighbor’s chickens) were all laying eggs Mrs. Farmer would put the extra eggs in lime water to preserve for winter when the hens laid fewer or no eggs. Preserving them this way required no refrigeration. A pantry or cellar would suffice to leave them set in until they were needed 8 - 10 months later.
A couple years ago I decided to give this a try. I mixed up some lime in a five-gallon bucket and placed a layer of eggs in the bucket. I was so excited as I set my bucket of eggs in the cellar with plans to add more fresh eggs every day.
Alas! The next day when I came to add more eggs, the bucket was nowhere to be found! I searched high and low and questioned every soul in the house. No bucket of eggs was to be found. One day after the umpteenth time of questioning I could see a light go on in one boy’s eyes and he said, Ohh, I thought that was a slop bucket of bad eggs and so I fed them to the pigs! Oops!
What you need
Mrs. Wage’s pickling lime
Filtered or distilled water
Gallon glass jar or food-grade bucket
Fresh, unwashed eggs
The ratio for mixing the pickling lime and water is; 1 ounce of lime ( by weight) to one quart of water. You can mix it in your container.
Start filling your container with fresh, unwashed eggs. Do not use store bought eggs as those have had the protective coating washed off.
Keep on adding eggs until your container is full. Once its full you are ready to store these eggs is in your pantry, cellar, or kitchen cabinet.
To be informed is to be prepared! Louise