Chicken farmers benefit from knowing how to preserve eggs! Knowing how to keep fresh eggs for longer is a great skill, whether it’s a surplus or a shortage. With so many ways to preserve eggs, there’s definitely at least one that you’ll like.
Say you have about a dozen eggs coming from your coop per week. You can quickly eat fresh eggs from the farm to prevent spoilage or preserve them for later use. The latter also helps with the drop in egg production for laying hens in the winter months.
Knowing basic ways and other egg preservation methods is important, and practicing them isn’t just instructive – it’s fun! Some methods are best suited for eggs used in baking, and others keep a fresh egg fresh.
Here, we’ll cover preserving eggs, why people do this, and how to do different methods at home.
In the northern hemisphere, spring is usually the peak egg-laying season. You will want to begin storing eggs during this “heavy” time. The idea is to have enough eggs to last through the “lean” period during the fall and winter. Eggs stored in salt and grease will keep easily for five or six months.
Ways To Preserve Eggs
Now that we’ve discussed the benefits and disadvantages of preserving eggs let’s examine the methods in detail. We’ll touch on food safety first and then get into the specifics of each.
The Purpose of Preservation
Chicken farming is as old as agriculture, with archaeological evidence of domestication dating to over 8000 years ago in Southeast Asia. Initially, preservation was a matter of necessity. Until the World War II era, there were no home refrigerators and freezers. Humans developed ways to keep their eggs fresh for longer. Many techniques, like salt preservation, pickling, or canning, originated where chicken domestication began.
Preservation occurs for the two reasons we’ve mentioned: either a surplus of eggs or access to eggs when production naturally declines. There are also culinary reasons for preserving fresh farm eggs.
Preservation allows you to have fresh or frozen eggs at your disposal for a long time. Using different methods, you can store and use eggs in a way that provides foods with different textures and flavor profiles. These techniques save you some extended labor and time. Instead of trying to find someone to take your extra eggs, you have them available to be used as needed.
One of the issues that arise is food safety. We’ll discuss this in more detail later, but certain preserved eggs require different processes to prevent food poisoning. Another issue is storage. Maybe you’ve got tons of eggs, everything you need to preserve them, but no space to keep them; perhaps you’re living on a homestead without immediate access to amenities. This can make acquiring materials difficult or time-consuming.
Many methods require fresh eggs that haven’t been washed. Some you can carry out with store-bought eggs. The vast majority of the methods we’ll discuss here are for chicken farmers who regularly deal with fresh batches of eggs. However, we will discuss a few you can do with store-bought eggs.
Some also require that you use chicken eggs, as other types of eggs may not be laid in an area as clean as a regularly-maintained coop. Cleaning them can sometimes disrupt the process of preservation.
How To Store Eggs Long Term NO REFRIGERATION | Food Shortage | Prepping
FAQ
How long can you store eggs in salt?
How do you preserve eggs for years?
What is the longest way to preserve eggs?
How did they preserve eggs in the old days?
Can You preserve eggs in Salt?
While the historical technique of preserving whole eggs in salt may be a bust, cracking the eggs open and just preserving the yolks is delicious. Salt-preserved egg yolks are really simple to make at home, and the resulting cured yolk can be used just like parmesan cheese. Grate a little over the top of pasta for a tasty bite of umami.
How long can raw eggs last in the refrigerator?
It can last from 4 to 5 weeks depending on the state of your refrigerator. Please make sure to check whether there are broken eggs before storing them in fridge. Remove broken eggs to prevent contamination with the other eggs.
How long do boiled salted eggs last?
Boiled salted eggs also keep for 1 month. To serve the boiled eggs, cut them lengthwise into quarters. If they don’t peel cleanly, cut them with their shells on. (Tap with a knife blade to crack the shell and make cutting easier, then use a spoon to scoop out the egg.) Arrange on a plate and serve.
Do salted eggs need to be refrigerated?
Store the salted eggs in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. The eggs continue to get saltier the longer they sit. If the whites become too salty, you can still enjoy the yolks. Alternatively, before refrigerating the eggs, boil them to stop the curing process and then refrigerate them, and they are ready to eat at any time.