Egg production naturally slows as days get shorter. Of course you can light your coop to artificially stimulate your hens to lay, but I like to give our girls a much-needed rest in the winter.
Recently I shared instructions on freezing eggs to use through the lean months, but here's another simple way to preserve fresh eggs for a year or longer.
Preserving Eggs in Salt
This method appears in The Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable by Juliette de Bairacli Levy, originally published in 1952, and makes the claim that eggs preserved this way will keep for two years, although other articles I've read about this method claim the eggs should be used within 6 months.
You want to use your freshest eggs for this method. And only those from your backyard, not store bought eggs.
What you Need |
Melt the beeswax in the olive oil. Dip the eggs in the warm liquid, making sure to completely immerse each egg. Set eggs to dry, then gently wipe each with a paper towel or soft cloth.
Store eggs, pointy end down, in an airtight container filled with coarse sea salt. Be sure each egg is completely covered in salt and the eggs aren't touching each other.
Since this was my first time trying this method and really just a test, I used quart mason jars, but you could use ice chests or coolers or other large covered containers to preserve larger quantities of eggs.
Note: The instructions didn't say whether the eggs should be washed or not. Since our eggs are clean when I collect them, I didn't wash them first. I thought leaving the natural 'bloom' intact would help keep air and bacteria out.
This is my first time trying this method. It was quick and easy and I'm eager to see how it works. Check back with me next October and I'll tell you!
Water Glassing is NOT an approved method for long-term egg preservation
Despite what you might see on YouTube or Tiktok, water glassing is NOT an approved method of storing eggs long-term.
For more details, here are some resources:
- Storing eggs safely (Kansas State University)
- Preserving eggs (University of Wyoming)
- How to safely preserve eggs (University of Arkansas)
- Preserving farm fresh eggs (University of Nebraska)
- Storing eggs safely (Utah State University)