Okay... After
spending the entire day
in research on this subject I have discovered
the following excerpts in regard to egg
storage:
From Rodale Press, Inc. 1973.
Stocking
Up. (pp 238-241)
"STORING EGGS
Because each egg is intended by nature
to house an unborn chicken, nature packages
each one in its own protective shell. The
shell is porous enough to permit oxygen and
other gases to flow in and out through its
walls, but it's outer coating or membrane
prevents bacteria and molds to enter which
would otherwise contaminate the egg.
Alone, the shell will protect the eggs
for a short time, providing it is kept cool.
Bursh, don't wash, dirt off eggs before you
store them. People who vigorously wash off
the dirt are also washing off the egg's
protective membrane. If possible, store your
eggs in a covered container to keep out
objectionable odors that travel with gases
through the shell's pores.
Eggs will keep at refrigerator
temperatures for a week or two, but after
that time their freshness fades. Both the
white and the yolk begin to lose their
firmness and become watery and runny. The
yolk of an old egg will usually break into
the white when the shell is cracked open,
making separating the yolk from the white of
old eggs a difficult, if not impossible,
task.
OLD FASHIONED METHODS
Before farmers had access to freezers,
they devised some simple (but not always
successful) means of preserving their excess
eggs. Some farmers relied solely on the use
of salt to keep their eggs from rotting.
After gathering their eggs, they packed them
in a large barrel or crock with plenty of
salt and stored them in a cellar or spring
house to keep them cool.
The majority, however, found some way to
clog up the pores of the egg shells so that
moisture would not escape and air could not
enter. Eggs were rubbed with grease, zinc,
or boric ointment, or submerged in a solution
of lime, salt, cream of tartar, and
water.
Probably the most popular way to seal
egg shells was to water-glass them. By this
method a chemical, sodium silicate, was mixed
with water and poured in a crock which was
filled with eggs that were about twelve hours
old. The solium silicate (which is used
today to seal concrete floors and as an
adhesive in the paper industry) would clog
the pores in the shells and make them
airtight.
Some people, even today, use
waterglassing as a means of preserving eggs,
but this storage method has its drawbacks.
Eggs preserved this way are not good for
boiling because their shells become very soft
in the waterglass solution. The whites will
not become stiff and form peaks, no matter
how long they are beaten. No souffles, egg
nogs, or meringues with waterglassed eggs.
There is also a very good possibility that by
consuming eggs stored in waterglass you would
be consuming some of the undesirable
chemical, sodium silicate. If you keep
roosters with your hens, (which you'll do if
you want to maintain a natural, happy
environment for your hens and produce
wholesome eggs for your family),
waterglassing may not be a successful means
of preservation for you. The life factor in
fertilized eggs makes these eggs deteriorate
more quickly than sterile, unfertilized eggs,
and waterglassing may not be enough of a
preventative against spoilage.
FREEZING
Freezing is the only way to keep eggs
safely at home for more than two weeks.
Eggs, both fertile and unfertile, will keep
as long as six months in the freezer, if you
prepare and pack them properly. The rule for
selecting the right food for freezing applies
for eggs just as it does for fruits and
vegetables: Choose only the very freshest.
Eggs even a day or two old should be stored
in the regrigerator and used within a
relatively short time, as recipes call for
them. Freeze only just-gathered eggs.
Eggs in their shell expand under
freezing temperatures and split open. For
this reason they must be shelled and stored
in appropriate containers. If you are
storing eggs in rigid containers, leave a
little headspace for expansion. You can
separate the white from the yolk and freeze
each separately, or you can store the eggs
whole.
If you are freezing egg whites alone,
they can be frozen as is, in air-tight
containers.
For convenience, pack as many eggs together
as you will need for your favorite recipes.
You can then thaw and use a whole container
of egg whites at one time.
If you are packing yolks separately or
are packing whole eggs, you will need to
stabilize the yolks so that they won't become
hard and pasty after thawing. To do this,
add one teaspoon of salt or one teaspoon of
honey to each cup of yolks. Twelve yolks
make up one cup. Break up the yolks and stir
in the salt or honey. Of course, it is
necessary to mark on the container whether
salt or honey was used as the stabilizer so
that you won't ruin recipes by adding more
salt or honey than you had intended.
If you are packing your eggs whole, you
will also need to stabilize them with salt or
honey. Add one teaspoon of salt or honey to
each cup of whole eggs. There are about five
whole eggs in one cup. Scramble the eggs
with the salt or honey before packing and
freezing. Whole eggs can be packed together
in one container or they can be packed
individually by using a plastic ice cube
tray. To pack eggs separately, measure three
tablespoons of whole scrambled eggs (which
equals one whole egg) into each separate
compartment of the ice cube tray. Place the
filled tray in the freezer, and when the eggs
have frozen, pop them out and store all the
egg cubes in a plastic bag. By so doing you
will be able to take from the bag and thaw
just as many eggs as you need at one
time.
Eggs should be thawed completely before
using. They thaw at refrigerator
temperatures in about nine hours and at room
thempeatures in about four hours. If frozen
properly, thawed eggs have the taste, texture
and nutritional value of fresh eggs and can
be used successfully in all recipes calling
for eggs. To make up one egg from separately
frozen whites and yolks, measure out one
tablespoon of yolk and two tablespoons of
white. Eggs should be used soon after they
thaw, as they deteriorate rapidly."
