Springtime on the homestead means more daylight, and happier chickens. Happier chickens make more eggs, and thus, we have an overabundance to deal with. In order to have plenty in the fall and winter months, water glassing eggs is the perfect solution.
What is Water glassing Eggs?
Water glassing eggs involves submerging clean, unwashed, eggs in a pickling lime and water solution to seal off the shell and preserve them for 12-18 months. The result is perfectly fresh, unspoiled eggs, just like they were the day the hen laid them. Sometimes properly water glassed eggs are still fresh even after two years. Homestead folks have been using this preservation method since the 1800s to capitalize on the springtime egg abundance year round.
There are a few different solutions that work for water glassing, such as sodium silicate and water, but today I am going to share a method for using hydrated lime, which is also known as pickling lime.
Tips:
You can fit approximately 16-18 eggs per half gallon jar.
Use your cleanest eggs for water glassing. I usually set aside the spotless ones and wait to water glass until I have enough of them. We wash the really dirty ones and store them in the refrigerator. If we keep up with cleaning the coop, and adding fresh straw or bedding, we have a lot more water glass candidates.
If you don’t have a water filter, and you only have access to chlorinated water, you can leave an open jar of water out on the counter for 24 hours. This will cause the chlorine to evaporate.
Use an airtight vessel. Oxygen is the enemy of nearly all food preservation methods, and water glassing is no exception!
Use 1 ounce of pickling lime per quart of water. You can do this in any quantity. So if you have 50 dozen eggs, get yourself some big old food grade buckets and whole lot of lime!
FAQ
Why should you preserve eggs?
We don’t usually think of eggs as a seasonal food, but they actually are. A hen’s ovulation coincides with the length of the day. In the winter, when the daylight hours are short, hens lay little to no eggs. Chickens reach their peak egg laying production when the daylight hours are longest. Heat can also affect ovulation, so springtime, between April and June, yields the highest egg volume here on our homestead. In order to avoid buying several dozen eggs a week in the middle of winter, it makes sense to preserve them when production is up.
Can you water glass store bought eggs?
Unfortunately, no, you cannot water glass store bought eggs. When hens lay eggs, they are covered with a protective “bloom” to keep the eggs fresher longer. This is the reason you can find a pile of eggs hidden somewhere on your homestead after a few weeks, and they are still perfectly fresh and edible. Eggs from the grocery store have been thoroughly cleaned and sanitized, so the bloom is no longer in tact. The lime solution in water glassing works with the bloom to preserve the eggs, so sanitized eggs are a definitee no-go for this method. Try freezing the eggs instead.
Can you use tap water to water glass eggs?
Avoid chlorinated and fluorinated water when water glassing eggs. Ideally you would have access to filtered water that still has all of the minerals intact. If you are on a well, tap water will work just fine. If you are on city water with chlorine and fluoride, opt for a filter, such as the Berkey Water Filter for water glassing eggs.
Can you boil water glass eggs?
You can hard boil eggs that have been water glassed, but it is important to note that you should first poke a small hole in the shell. The hydrated lime solution works by sealing off the egg, and filling all of the pores of the eggshell, so it could actually explode if you don’t first create a release for the pressure.
What is hydrated lime?
Hydrated lime aka calcium hydroxide is a dry and colorless white powder that is most commonly used in steel manufacturing. It is also known as pickling lime or slaked lime.
Can I use garden lime for water glassing eggs?
Garden lime is calcium carbonate, whereas pickling lime is calcium hydroxide. Since the hydroxide is more alkaline, pickling lime is recommended for water glassing.
Is it normal for the lime to settle on the bottom?
Yes, settling lime is a normal part of the process. You may be tempted to stir the solution back up, but don’t do it! You risk cracking the eggs and ruining the whole batch. There is still plenty of lime in the water to preserve the eggs, so no need to worry.
Are water glassed eggs safe to eat?
As long as the process was done properly, water glassed eggs are perfectly safe. Make sure to use clean jars and utensils and clean unwashed eggs. If an egg has gone bad, you will know. The smell will be way off. You can also use the float test to ensure the egg is still fresh.
Do they taste different than fresh eggs?
No! That is the best part about water glassed eggs. Freezing and dehydrating eggs changes the texture of the eggs, whereas water glassing keeps them exactly as they were the day the hen laid them.
When can I preserve farm fresh eggs?
Do you have an overabundance of eggs in the winter for some reason? No worries! You can use water glassing anytime. The eggs also don’t need to be harvested fresh that day. You can wait until you have enough clean ones saved up and do a big preserving day anytime!
Ingredients you will need:
1 ounce pickling lime
1 quart filtered water
Clean unwashed eggs (Eggs that have no poop or mud, and the “bloom” still fully intact)
Equipment:
Airtight Food grade bucket or half gallon glass jar
Kitchen scale (to weigh the pickling lime)
What types of eggs can you use:
Chicken Eggs
Quail Eggs
Duck Eggs
Any eggs can we water glassed!
How To Water Glass Eggs:
Measure out 1 ounce of pickling lime on your kitchen scale.
Add the pickling lime to a clean half gallon jar and fill it up halfway (one quart) with filtered water.
Whisk the lime into the water until it is fully incorporated.
Carefully add the eggs pointy side down.
Add an airtight lid to prevent oxygen from getting in, and prevent the water from evaporating.
Store the water glassed eggs in a cool dark place.
How Long Do They Last?
You can store water glassed eggs in a cool dark place for up to a year. Some people have had success for much longer.
Water Glassing Eggs
Ingredients
- 1 ounce pickling lime
- 1 quart filtered water
- Clean unwashed eggs Eggs that have no poop or mud, and the “bloom” still fully intact
Instructions
- Measure out 1 ounce of pickling lime on your kitchen scale.
- Add the pickling lime to a clean half gallon jar and fill it up halfway (one quart) with filtered water.
- Whisk the lime into the water until it was fully incorporated.
- Carefully add the eggs pointy side down.
- Add an airtight lid to prevent oxygen from getting in, and prevent the water from evaporating.
- Store the water glassed eggs in a cool dark place.
Notes
- You can store water glassed eggs in a cool dark place for up to a year. Some people have had success for much longer.
Linda Hanlon says
I went to check on my eggs about 4 months into waterglassing and found a broken egg. Will all of the eggs be bad now?
Jodie says
Can I add eggs daily? Or do they need to be put in all at once?
Lisa says
Eggs can be added daily as they come in.
McDiy says
Note about chlorinated water. Only free chlorine will dissipate in a day or two. Chloraminated water (chlorine & ammonia) will last weeks. However you can dechlorinate the water with a tiny bit of vitamin C. I have used a single 1000mg vitamin C tablet to dechlorinate 50 gallons of water (used professional testing equipment). I have been working in public drinking water since 1998. Chloraminated water is becoming much more widely used than free chlorine due to it’s long lasting residual.
Mary says
After you remove the eggs, can you reuse the same mixture for a new batch of eggs?
Lisa says
I personally do not recommend doing this.
Carolyn says
What are the parameters of a cool dark room? Is out in the shed in the winter too cool?
Lisa says
Depending on where you live it could be too cool. If it gets to freezing I would say it is. It could be a basement, garage or kitchen cabinet.
Jennifer Lukens says
I finally found some jars big enough (big pickle jars) but they don’t have a lid. Can I use a few layers of plastic wrap and put a rubber band around them?
Lisa says
Yes for sure. It is really just for a barrier to keep bugs and dust out.
Laurie says
I water glassed eggs 5 months ago. When I take them out and put them in some water they do not float to the top of the water. So that tells that they are still good. They don’t smell when I put them out into the pan. However, they are very watery when I drop them in the pan and must always scramble them. After cooking them they have a smell about them that is different than store bought eggs. They smell slightly rotten . Why is this? Are these eggs still good? Should they come out of the shell watery?
Lisa says
Smell is a pretty good indicator for me. If they smell off, I pitch them in the compost!
Mariah says
Mine were very watery too and I thought smelled slightly fishy.. other than that they looked fine and I used them in a quiche.. My husband ate 2 big slices with no digestive upsets. I ate 1/3 of a slice and had diarrhea a few hours later and I am not prone to digestive issues. I am a bit leery now.
Rachel Sterling says
I did my first batch of eggs this morning and had a few floaters. Iโm assuming I should take them out after reading your instructions, which answers one of two questions I had. My remaining question then is thisโฆ I plan to obtain more eggs here in the next few days. Can I add them to the solution I already mixed up? I mixed way to much for the eggs that I currently had and donโt want to waste it. Thanks!
Lisa says
Yes that is totally fine! And you are right, floaters are not good.
Suzanne says
I had a batch of water glassed eggs. When I reached in to get some out, one broke. I immediately made another batch of lime water and transferred the rest of the unbroken eggs to it in the hopes of saving the rest of them. I haven’t attempted to use them yet as I’m would like more guidance regarding this incident. Please advise as to whether they can still be used or should I just toss the whole bucket out? Many thanks!
Karen says
Hello – have enjoyed reading our posts!
I have WATER GLASSED eggs from JUNE 2021 –
today I went to used them and many of the eggs had broken yolks.
There is NO smell!
Several were intact – looked wonderful (white maybe a touch more watery).
About to fry a fresh egg vs the WATER GLASSED egg!
Have you had broken YOLKS and are they safe to use?????
Lisa says
I have not. You don’t want to use the yolks that have broken in the solution.
Janet Schexnayder says
Just FYI (you may want to update above text) — our city now uses chloramine instead of chlorine to disninfect our drinking water. Chloramine does not dissipate (“off-gas”) overnight, or even over a week. There are ways to neutralize the chloramine, one of which might be to add a tiny bit of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) to the water. I add 1/2 teaspoon to a bathtub full of water to prevent my skin burning after I get out of the bathtub. For some reason I am more sensitive than most.
Mary says
Thank you for this information! Iโm going to put this next to my tub!