If you have your own chickens, you know how the egg cartons fill up in the summer months and egg production dwindles in the winter. Thankfully, water glassing eggs is an efficient long-term solution to preserving eggs so we can eat that overabundant supply later in the year.
While some breeds such as New Hampshires and Brahmas will lay through the cold months, most chickens really slow down on production during the winter months. This is mostly due to a lack of light, but weather conditions also play a part.
Some folks choose to add supplemental light in their chicken coops to help boost winter production, but we do not. This means we get very few eggs most of the winter. Yet, we still eat eggs quite frequently.
What is Water Glassing Eggs?
An old preservation method to keep eggs long-term prior to refrigeration, water glassing dates back to the early 1800s. Originally, sodium silicate, also known as water glass, was mixed with water, put in a container and eggs were submerged in the mixture to preserve the eggs.
When sodium silicate is mixed with water and the water begins to evaporate, it turns into a hard, glassy gel. In fact, water glass is often used to seal concrete surfaces or glue together glass and porcelain due to these properties.
Today, most people use calcium hydroxide, or pickling lime, in place of sodium silicate to water glass their eggs. While either substance can be utilized, I use and recommend using pickling lime as it's more natural and widely available.
Pickling lime, a food grade substance that shouldn't be confused with other types of lime, is a white powder that was originally used in old fashioned pickling recipes to add crispness to the pickles. It can be found in grocery stores with the canning supplies or online.
Regardless of which substance you use, it is mixed with water in a container and the eggs are submerged into the solution. The process actually seals the eggshell to prevent bacteria from entering the egg, keeping the egg fresh for months, or even years.
Is Water Glassing Safe?
Water glassed eggs that have been submerged in the water glassing solution are safe to eat. The eggs should be thoroughly rinsed of the lime solution before they are used.
When placing eggs into the water glassing solution, care should be used to make sure none of the eggs crack. The smallest of cracks will ruin the entire batch of eggs. Eggs should also be dry and free of debris. Even a speck of chicken poo or mud can ruin the batch.
Can all eggs be water glassed?
All poultry eggs can be water glassed. That being said, the eggs must be fresh and clean of all debris but unwashed. Washed eggs cannot be preserved using the water glassing method as the bloom is no longer intact which will allow the lime water to enter the egg.
This means that store-bought eggs, at least in the United States, cannot be water glassed as they are washed and bleached before being sold to consumers. These eggs don't have the protective coating, known as the bloom, to keep the lime water from entering the egg.
It's best to use eggs laid on the current day and add them to the solution. Older eggs should be reserved for things you plan to cook now instead of preserved.
How to Water Glass Eggs
Water glassing is a simple process and the best way to preserve your farm-fresh eggs. You'll just grab materials, make your solution and place your eggs into it. But, let's discuss the exact procedure.
Gather Materials
The first thing is going to be to grab all of the materials you'll need to successfully water glass. While there are different methods between using sodium silicate solution and lime solution, I am going to stick with explaining the lime water method.
Pickling Lime - found in the local grocery store with canning supplies or online, pickling lime, also known as hydrated lime, is a type of lime. It's a white powdery substance derived from limestone.
Kitchen Scale - limewater is made by weight not volume, so you need an accurate scale to measure the weight of the lime.
Water - it's best to use distilled water, this is especially true if you have water high in mineral content or chlorinated.
Food Grade Container - any large container made with food grade material will work. Many people use half-gallon or one-gallon glass jars.
I recommend one-gallon food-grade buckets because the eggs are easier to retrieve out of the bucket than they are out of the glass jars. A one-gallon bucket will cover about 2 dozen eggs. Some people use larger buckets, just keep in mind that you have to reach the bottom to grab the oldest eggs first.
Eggs - Fresh unwashed eggs are necessary for this to work. However, you do not have to add all of the eggs the same day you make the solution, or any eggs at all. You can add fresh eggs as you get them.
Directions
- Pickling Lime
- Water
- Clean Eggs (with the bloom still intact)
- In a food grade bucket or glass jar combine 1 ounce of pickling lime to 1 quart of room temperature water and mix until lime powder is well dissolved. Note that no matter how much of the solution you make, the ratio of 1 ounce of lime to 1 quart of water will remain the same.
- Add eggs to the liquid gently, with the pointy side of the egg pointing down, making sure the egg is fully submerged into the water glass solution with two inches of liquid remaining above the eggs. Be sure not to crack any eggs when placing them in the solution because a cracked egg will ruin the entire solution and you'll have to start over.
- Add the lid to the container to prevent evaporation and store in a cool, dark place.
Using Water Glassed Eggs
When you're ready, grab an egg, preferably from the bottom layer of your bucket if you've been adding eggs a few at a time. You can also grab a few eggs that will be used within a couple of days and store these eggs in the refrigerator to prevent needing to get into the container each time you need another egg.
Water glassed eggs can be used the same way as a farm fresh egg just gathered from the coop unless you plan to boil or steam the egg. Since the preserved eggs are no longer porous you'll want to put a small pinprick in the egg shell prior to boiling or steaming to prevent the egg from exploding.
The texture and flavor of water glassed eggs is very much the same as a fresh egg. So, you don't have to worry about using them for a freshly fried egg or scrambled eggs. But, they can be used in any way you desire.
If you aren't boiling the eggs, it's best to crack them in a separate bowl before using to make sure you don't have any rotten eggs. Of course, with fresh eggs this is really the best practice anyway because, well, you never know and chickens like to be sneaky with eggs sometimes.
This long-standing historical method for preserving is a fantastic way to preserve dozens of eggs for use all year long instead of having to rely on grocery stores when production drops.
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Phil says
How do you clean without washing the eggs? Wiping with a wet cloth is the same as washing is it not? How else to get dried foreign substance off the egg shell without removing the bloom.
Danielle McCoy says
You can't wipe them or wash them with any dampness. However, you can wipe some straw or nesting box material off with a dry cloth to keep the bloom intact. We only water glass the eggs that are clean, so if our hens decide to lay them out in the yard in the mud or make a mess of their nesting boxes, those eggs are washed and used. Only the clean eggs are water glassed. I hope that helps.
KW says
Hello! I have followed directions - lime has settled - I have a few little bubbles on some of the eggs. Is this normal? I purchased from a farm and they said they were not washed but they were clean. Thanks!
Danielle McCoy says
Yes, that's normal. However, make sure you're using fresh eggs. A day or two old, on the counter, is fine. But I wouldn't recommend using week-old eggs for water glassing. I'm just mentioning that since you said you got them from a local farmer.
Wincy says
It seems normal for the lime powder to settle at the bottom. When adding eggs at a later date, does the solution have to be agitated or is it ok just to plonk fresh eggs on top despite all the lime settling at the bottom?
Danielle McCoy says
You can just add them, the lime is still dispersed.
Karla says
My glassed egg shells are changing color in the water. Is this normal, or is my batch ruined?
Thank you
Danielle McCoy says
Hi Karla, the shells should not change color in the lime water solution. The eggs will look the same when removed, if they're different then they're not properly water glassed. The insides, however, will generally be a lighter yolk color and slightly more runny. The shells should look exactly the same as they did the day you placed them in the solution.
Sheella says
I'm curious where the ratio of 1 oz (by weight) of pickling lime to 1 quart of water comes from, since so much powder settles to the bottom. I would think that means that quite a bit less of the powder would do. But there may be something I don't know about this.
Danielle McCoy says
The lime should be well-mixed. That much is necessary to create the proper "water glass" substance. Too little and it won't preserve your eggs.
Alexis says
@Danielle McCoy, what happens if i use TOO much lime? I measured it on a food scale but when looking at other jars I've done (and measured out as well) it looks like it is way more. Should i dump it all out and redo the batch?
Danielle McCoy says
If you measured it with a scale then it's probably an optical illusion, but if ever in debt, throw it out is my motto.
Julia says
The eggs were gathered yesterday and today. The grandkids did not know to leave them on the counter and put them in the refrigerator. Can I still glass them?
Danielle McCoy says
No
James Warner says
@Danielle McCoy, why not? What does refrigeration do to make the eggs un-water glassable?
Danielle McCoy says
Refrigerating them means they will warm in the container and make the shells porous allowing the lime to get through.
Christine says
I just opened the bucket I preserved in June and there was an ugly yellow, slimy film on top and it smelled pretty bad. I'm assuming the whole bucket of eggs is bad?
Danielle McCoy says
Sounds like you had a cracked egg, yes the whole bucket will be bad.
Susan Doak says
Can you tell me how old an egg can be to water glass? I know they're best glassed after they've been laid, but is there a time that the egg can sit unrefrigerated and un washed before glassing?
Danielle McCoy says
I wouldn't use an egg over a day or two old
Stephanie says
Hi- I just started a bucket of eggs last weekend. I think my scale was off and I added too much lime to my water. I attempted to balance it out with more water and figured that more lime was better than too little. I added a fresh egg today and noticed that the other eggs were bleached to a white or off white. I assume this is due to the extra lime in the water. I’ve looked for information about the impact of having excess lime, but can’t find any. Do you happen to know?
Danielle McCoy says
Unfortunately, I do not know for sure. When in doubt... I opt to discard it. I would cook them and feed them back to the chickens or something similar perhaps? I don't know that I would eat them, it's possible that too much lime could penetrate the shell.
Rory says
Hello, I recently started a five gallon bucket. There is probably 5 or 6 dozen eggs in it at this time. This morning when I went to place more eggs into the solution there was an icing on the top of the water. I touched the solution and it cracked into flakes that sank to the bottom. Is this normal or is this the outcome of a cracked egg? Thank you in advance!
Danielle McCoy says
That's just the "water glass" doing its thing. A cracked egg will be pretty obvious, you'll see pieces of egg floating in the solution, generally speaking. I recommend going to a smaller bucket or not putting as many eggs in it in the future. Those large buckets get quite heavy, and using the first in first out method is hard.