How to preserve eggs

Learn the simplest way to preserve farm fresh eggs for up to 1 year!

My family’s journey to living off the land all started with eggs. We lived in the suburbs on less than a 1/4 acre lot and had ripped up our front yard to make a vegetable garden. The neighbors were real pleased with that one! But, one of the biggest steps we took, was buying 12 cute little ducklings.

My husband built a small duck house in the backyard, we put up a temporary fence for protection, and a kiddie pool for water.

And, we waited.

After about 8 months, one of our kids found an egg in the duck house. It was like finding buried treasure! The idea that we could have fresh eggs everyday on our little 1/4 acre lot was amazing, it was one of the best decisions we made.

Fast forward to 2021, where our flock grew exponentially and we started bringing in an abundance of eggs through the spring and summer. I wanted to figure out a way to preserve our abundance of eggs, so that, we could use them in the winter months when the ducks and chickens tend to taper off and produce less.

I looked at several ways, from dehydrating to freezing. After reading about dehydrating, I decided I didn’t want to mess with the consistency of the eggs, and, it seemed like a lot of work. It’s all about keeping it simple over here.

I tried freezing the eggs. I would crack them into a muffin tin, freeze them, and then put them in freezer bags. This method worked well, as long as I remembered in advance to thaw them. It wasn’t an ideal method because I couldn’t remember to thaw them the day before! Not to mention, one of our goals has been to rely less on our freezer.

Then, I finally found it! A method that would keep the whole egg in tact, I could take it out and immediately use it, and it didn’t require a freezer. And today, my friends, I am sharing that method with you!

What kind of eggs can I preserve?

For this method, you’re going to want unwashed farm fresh eggs. Eggs from the grocery store won’t cut it. Why? Because the protective coating has been washed away. Not to mention, the eggs in the grocery are inferior in nutrition to local farm fresh eggs, no matter how many fancy labels they slap on the carton. You want eggs that have not touched water.

It’s also important that the eggs are clean. Now, for chicken eggs, this is easy. Every single egg our chickens lay are clean. But duck eggs? Ducks tend to get their eggs dirty, so I have to be pretty selective when I preserve them. You can see the difference in the picture below.

What supplies do I need to preserve eggs?

The great part about this method is you don’t need much! Just a food grade bucket and lid, a bag of hydrated lime, and water (distilled, filtered, or good ol’ well water).

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I found hydrated lime at our local feed store. I bought a 50lb bag, which will last me forever, for about $10 or $15. This is actually the same kind of lime that is used to lime wash brick, which is my next endeavor 🙂

What is hydrated lime?

If you are going to be using lime to preserve your eggs, you might want to know exactly what it is right? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!

Hydrated lime, also known as pickling lime, is essentially limestone that has been ground into a fine powder and heated in a kiln. The end result of this process is calcium hydroxide. In this “new state” it is no longer beneficial for the soil, but it is excellent for other uses.

Because of the process it has undergone, it is important that you handle it with care. Be careful not to breathe in the powder and be sure to wash your hands after touching it.

Don’t worry, it is completely safe for eggs! And don’t forget, this is why we keep the protective coating on our eggs. This keeps the lime from penetrating the egg.

How to preserve eggs in Hydrated lime

The first step is to get some unwashed, clean eggs. Okay, got em’?

Next step, clean the food grade bucket and lid.

Now it is time to measure out the lime. Be careful on this part. Hydrated lime is very dusty, so don’t put your face in it! You will want a ratio of 1 ounce of lime to every quart of water. So, adjust accordingly.

Add the water to the bucket, then the lime, and stir until combined. Again, do not put your face in front of the bucket when stirring in the lime or you will be coughing up a storm.

Once the mixture is ready, begin gently placing the eggs in the water. Place a lid on top and keep adding eggs to the bucket as you go. Depending on how many eggs you preserve, you made need to add more lime/water mixture as the bucket fills with eggs. That is perfectly fine.

In this picture, the lime is a little cloudy, but you can see some of my eggs in the bucket. It is holding about 40 eggs.

Where do I store the bucket?

Because it is the lime that is preserving the eggs, no refrigeration is needed. I keep my bucket in the pantry so that I can access the eggs easily.

How to use preserved eggs

Any time you want to use an egg from the bucket, just grab an egg, wash it off with water, and use it. It is that simple! Much easier than freezing or dehydrating. The eggs can be preserved this way for up to 1 year.

What if I don’t have chickens or ducks?

No problem. As I mentioned before, you definitely don’t want to get eggs from the grocery store. That will not work for this method. However, if you don’t have your own farm fresh eggs, there are still ways you can preserve eggs. Check with local farmers in the area and ask for unwashed eggs.

~Amanda

Looking for more ways to preserve food?

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