This blog has moved. Please visit us at www.preparednesspro.com.
By Kellene Bishop
Photo c/o newlifeonahomestead.com
As I’ve been writing and researching recipes for my Emergency Preparedness cookbook, I’ve had an aversion to using any of my recipes which include an egg except for baking recipes. While you can use the old egg-substitute concoction of gelatin*, or dry packed eggs, these alternatives are really only good for baking. Dog gone it. I KNOW that I’m going to crave real eggs in the midst of a crisis. So I wanted to figure out a way to preserve fresh eggs for me and my family.
(*Note: Egg substitute for use in baking—Before starting a recipe for cookies, cake, etc, combine 1 tsp. of unflavored gelatin with 3 tbsp. of cold water and 2 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. of boiling water. This mixture will substitute for 1 egg in a baking recipe.)
Photo c/o iStock
Recently I noticed a solid movement of urban communities demanding that their city allow them to raise chickens on their lot for the purpose of having access to fresh eggs. In fact there’s even an organization formed online that is booming with hundreds of thousands of members specifically to promote this cause. (www.urbanchickens.org) Personally, I think that a city that would discourage independence of its citizens by forbidding a couple of backyard chickens is an enemy of freedom, but that’s just me. However, recently a neighboring town just approved a few backyard chickens for residences, and my city is pushing for the same. So I have hope that I will be raising a couple of chickens in my backyard soon. (I never would have even entertained such a thought a few years ago. I’m a far cry from a farmer or even a tomboy. It’s obvious that I have come a long way in my journey of embracing of the idea that I really DO need to be prepared and as independent as possible. So there’s hope for the rest of you. *wink*)
OK. So if I can raise the chicken, what good is it if I can’t consume the eggs everyday? At some point I’ve got to find a way to preserve the eggs without poisoning my family, right? I’m quite certain that families in “the olden days” had ways of doing so. So off I went on a mission to discover exactly how this was done. I’m excited with the information I found and thought I’d pass it on to you.
Here are the basics of preserving eggs:
- Be sure to use only fresh eggs. If any decomposition occurs, you will be unsuccessful. Also exposure to extreme heat or cold will hinder your preservation process.
-
Photo c/o sustainableisgood.com/blog
You can use an oil as well, but the oil can go rancid… not exactly what I would want on my eggs.
- Store the eggs in a finely ground preservative such as salt, bran, or an equal mix of finely ground charcoal and dry bran or finely ground oats. You can also store them in finely ground plaster of Paris, but that’s not exactly something that I plan on having on hand regularly. You can store the eggs layer upon layer, so long as you they don’t touch each other, metal, or wood. Be sure you have enough finely ground preservative to pack them in. (You can feed the salt and bran to the cattle afterwards.)
- Store the eggs small side down.
- Store the eggs in a covered container and keep in a cool, dry place. You don’t want to store them in freezing temperatures.
- Eggs will keep “fresh” for up to 9 months. In fact, some countries are known to have stored their eggs like this for up to 2 years.
I’ve also read of preserving eggs by placing them in boiling water for 5 to 20 seconds. I don’t recommend this way as even though they will keep, the texture of the egg is altered a bit from what I want to see when I fry an egg. And even then they subsequently need to be stored in the salt, etc. So I see no reason for this particular extra step that would alter the texture.
I’m so relieved knowing that this “foodie” doesn’t have to go without her fresh eggs even in a time of crisis now! Yippee!
Copyright 2009 Preparedness Pro & Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Preparedness Pro & Kellene Bishop.
Subscribe to Preparedness Pro today and never miss a thing!
Preparedness Pro 
May 18, 2009 at 6:35 pm
I used that site to check my local laws, which apparently have changed recently. Now Houstonians need to get a note from their doctor to have chickens:
“written certification from a licensed physician that in the opinion of such physician the applicant has need of fresh unfertilized chicken eggs for serious reasons pertaining to said person’s health.”
Then we’d need to be inspected before obtaining a permit.
May 18, 2009 at 9:08 pm
I’d say it’s worth the doctors trip. If there’s a doctor that’s worth his salt, he’d agree that chickens and egg without pesticides, etc is better for you!
May 18, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Kellene,
What a treat to find your site! Thanks for stopping by mine so I could find you. I never knew about this way to preserve eggs… fascinating and useful, thanks! No matter how you save or preserve them (or don’t in my case but still wait a long while before using them), here’s a trick for testing eggs before use to make sure they are not “bad.” Put the egg or eggs in a pan of cool water. Any eggs that pop to the top are bad – remember, the gas of spoiled eggs is what makes them rise in the water. The good eggs will stay flat in the bottom. Any eggs that raise part way up, I tend to feed those to the dogs…
Best,
Gin
May 19, 2009 at 1:42 am
Wow! This information, and the information in the comments about testing eggs to see if they are still good, are going in my emergency notebook so that in the event that I can use it, I will have it. Thanks for finding the info and then sharing it!
May 19, 2009 at 8:40 am
Wow, I had no idea you could ‘keep’ eggs. Can’t wait for my babies to start laying this summer. I found a good site for information about storing. They did an experiment for all the various methods. http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/1977-11-01/Can-You-Really-Store-Fresh-Eggs-a-Year-or-More-Without-Refrigeration.aspx
Again. You provide such an awesome service 🙂
May 19, 2009 at 8:43 am
(I personally LOVE the Mother Earth News.)Here’s something interesting. In Swizterland, they did a farming study in which some farmers were keeping eggs for TWO years! (I’m still scratching my head wondering why it took them so long to eat their eggs, and I’m hoping that they didn’t try to sell them after a long storage time.)
May 19, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Heh. Stupid HOA gets mad at us for having the GARAGE DOOR open (only allowed for egress or ingress of vehicles; children, bikes, and skateboards don’t count)
And our landlords wonder why we aren’t interesting in buying this house from them…
We are thinking about rabbits, which are allowed… but no eggs there! I did tell the children if we get rabbits, they’re going to have to name them Pork Chop and Chicken Wing, cuz they’ll be food.
June 24, 2009 at 9:13 pm
[…] They taste the exact same whether I’m using bottled butter, my own preserved cheese, my own preserved eggs, and my canned meat or the “fresh” stuff from the store. They are essentially my comfort […]
June 30, 2009 at 9:42 am
[…] After all, does the USDA tell you that you can store cheese on your own for 25 years, or that you can store “fresh” eggs for 9 months? I think not. And yet I KNOW that these methods work. I’ve also seen several “butter […]
July 13, 2009 at 10:00 am
[…] how to make bread, sprout, store M&Ms, make sour cream out of powdered milk, wax my own cheese, store eggs long-term, and create recipes out of what’s on my shelves, etc. I do it in anticipation of a situation in […]
September 2, 2009 at 12:45 am
I just had an idea: What do you think about coating the egg with cheese wax? Then you wouldn’t need vasoline or oil.
September 2, 2009 at 9:29 am
Yes, you can do that just fine. Here’s why I don’t though. A)too much more time and energy required. B) Cheese wax is much more expensive C) I use the eggs much more often than the cheese thus removing the wax from teh eggs is more arduous. D) Removing the wax from the eggs and then recycling it for more is very challenging.
By the way, the only reason why I know all of this is because I once had an “idea” much like yours. *wink*
September 2, 2009 at 10:18 am
1. What do you think of coating the eggs with Vaseline? (I read that somewhere.)
2. I can see how a lubricant covering would block air from entering the eggs. How does placing the eggs in salt or bran, etc. block the air?
Thanks Kellen. (All)Your posts are spot on!
September 2, 2009 at 11:00 am
Yes, you can use vaseline. I tried that method as well. It works fine. Again though, I find the mineral oil easier to slather on the egg, less mess when I use the egg and less mess when I store them.
The bran gives them a cool air flow and mimicks hay as well–the method that folks used to use when storing eggs long term to keep them cool. Vaseline and bran don’t mix so well if you’re planning on using the bran.
If you read my 10 Things I Wish I had Known, you’ll see that I’ve come to “see the light” when it comes to using the mineral oil. I use that almost exclusively now.
September 4, 2009 at 11:25 am
So, do you use mineral oil AND salt (or whatever) to pack them in?or do you use one or the other. I have chickens, but I would like to preserve extra eggs…
September 4, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Just so a search on this blog for preserving eggs…specifically it’s in the article “10 Things I Wish I Had Known.” I use just mineral oil and put them back in the carton they came in.
October 8, 2009 at 7:33 am
Mum mentioned to me the other day they used to preserve their eggs using water glass (sodium silicate). And this was only in the last 40-50 years. I have no idea if it’s still available but it’s interesting to think how quickly things change – this was common practice a generation or two ago & now is almost unheard of.
October 19, 2009 at 6:47 pm
I thought I saw somewhere that you indicated your could easily preserve eggs coated in mineral oil in their styrofoam or cardboard containers. However, I can’t find the article – help!
Thanks so much for your wonderful site. Also, If I wax cheese, can I alternately layer them in an open 5 gallon bucket and store them in my basement safely? Do I need to flip them over or keep them from touching like with parchment or something? Would love to see a photo of how you store your waxed cheese. 🙂
October 19, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Don’t stack the cheese on each other. Let the air circulate around it. One of the two ways I store my cheese is to criss-cross stack it in a bucket. I do not put the lid on the bucket. The most common way I do it though is to wrap it in cheese cloth and hang it from the ceiling.
Here’s the article that talks about the egg preservation. https://preparednesspro.wordpress.com/2009/05/28/10-things-i-wish-i-had-known-about-food-storage-10-years-ago/