Post by juju on Mar 1, 2006 10:59:29 GMT -5
Anyone for canned eggs?
By Liz Case
Ever heard of an old-time was of preserving eggs called waterglassing? It's a method that won't win many conterts today, but for someone who needs to reduce their dependency on refrigeration, it might be worth a try.
Hens naturally lay more eggs in the spring. There are ways to even out the cydle, but people who keep hens will still have spells of heavy or light production.
Where refrigeration was either unavailable or too expensive, old-timers often kept their eggs and milk fresh longer by loading them into a bucket and lowering them into a deep well. (They also developed egg-free recipes for those times when they simply had to do without).
Waterglassing was also fairly common, and I always wondered how it was done. When I finally found directions for the process, I realized why it had fallen so thouroughly out of favor. Beyond storing the eggs in a cool dry place, waterglassing calls for them to be immersed in a slimy, unappetizing liquid.
Waterglass is a sodium silicate solution, obtained from a druggist. One pint of waterglass is mixed with 9 to 10 pints of boiled, cooled water. The solution is then poured into a scalded storage crock (ora 5-gallon bucket), and the eggs are immersed in it. The slimy solution seals the pourous eggshell against air and moisture and thus retards spoilage.
Keep the fluid in the crock at least 2 inches above the eggs to allow for evaporation. Add more boiled, cooled water to maintain that level. Keep the crock tightly sealed and in a cool place.
The solution isn't poisonous, but you have to be careful to rinse the eggs well before you use them.
Source: Backwoods Home
www.backwoodshome.com/articles/case66.html
By Liz Case
Ever heard of an old-time was of preserving eggs called waterglassing? It's a method that won't win many conterts today, but for someone who needs to reduce their dependency on refrigeration, it might be worth a try.
Hens naturally lay more eggs in the spring. There are ways to even out the cydle, but people who keep hens will still have spells of heavy or light production.
Where refrigeration was either unavailable or too expensive, old-timers often kept their eggs and milk fresh longer by loading them into a bucket and lowering them into a deep well. (They also developed egg-free recipes for those times when they simply had to do without).
Waterglassing was also fairly common, and I always wondered how it was done. When I finally found directions for the process, I realized why it had fallen so thouroughly out of favor. Beyond storing the eggs in a cool dry place, waterglassing calls for them to be immersed in a slimy, unappetizing liquid.
Waterglass is a sodium silicate solution, obtained from a druggist. One pint of waterglass is mixed with 9 to 10 pints of boiled, cooled water. The solution is then poured into a scalded storage crock (ora 5-gallon bucket), and the eggs are immersed in it. The slimy solution seals the pourous eggshell against air and moisture and thus retards spoilage.
Keep the fluid in the crock at least 2 inches above the eggs to allow for evaporation. Add more boiled, cooled water to maintain that level. Keep the crock tightly sealed and in a cool place.
The solution isn't poisonous, but you have to be careful to rinse the eggs well before you use them.
Source: Backwoods Home
www.backwoodshome.com/articles/case66.html
Otherwise, it sounds like a great way to keep the surplus. At one time(pre Y2K) I think I found waterglass in the Lehmans catalog also.