How to Store Fresh Eggs

We did some research on the storage of fresh eggs. There are several suggested methods and each proponent seems to think that their method is the one to use. Fortunately we stumbled upon a study done by the Mother Earth News. They systematically studied and tried several of the more popular methods for 6 months.

You can read the full article online at Mother Earth News/ How to store fresh eggs.

Here are some of the general methods and findings:

Keep in mind that eggs should never be washed before storage. They have a natural coating on the shell ( called bloom) that protects the egg from the air and bacteria in the air. Over all the fertilized eggs stored better than unfertilized.

• Refrigerated eggs. Both homestead and store bought eggs where still good and almost like fresh when stored at 30 to 4o degrees in a sealed container for 150 days.

• Storing fresh eggs in wet or dry sand or sawdust. According to their research, forget this method. “Anything else, even doing nothing works better.
• Eggs stored in waterglass (sodium silicate) mixed with 9 parts water.Seems to work better than any other room temperature method. With a few exceptions this method should keep fresh eggs at room temperature for 5 months. Be sure to check each egg separately before using. In the research almost every batch contained one stinky egg.
• Eggs coated with Vaseline and packed in dry sand, kept at room temperature. These eggs keep only slightly better than unwashed fertilized eggs that are just left out at room temperature. 
• Eggs submerged in a solution of 16 parts water to 2 parts lime and 1 part salt, packed in lard and kept at room temperature. These eggs save as well as the waterglass method.

A couple of other ways to store eggs are to can them or to freeze them. Canning eggs means to pickle them. You can find our canning recipe for eggs under the heading “canning” on our home page.

To freeze eggs, break them into a bowl and scrabble them. To prevent the yokes from becoming gummy, add 1 teaspoon honey for each cup of eggs, or 1/2 teaspoon salt. These eggs are suitable for use in desserts or breakfast. When the eggs are frozen, remove them from the trays and store in plastic bags. They can be stored this way for up to 9 months.

To use the eggs, thaw them in the refrigerator and use them within 24 hours. Be sure that they are thoroughly cooked.

Eggs can also be separated before freezing. Add salt or honey as noted above to the yokes. It isn’t necessary to add anything to the whites. Two cubes equals on egg.     chickensmagazine.com

For more ideas on storing up for the winter, get our Storing the Winter Harvest ebook.