How to Store Fresh Chicken Eggs
Traditional and Modern Methods for Preserving Eggs
Chickens lay eggs to have babies, not to provide humans with a food source, so it stands to reason that chickens lay more eggs in the spring and summer when it is safe to raise young. Hens will lay eggs regardless of whether or not a rooster is present to fertilize them.
Most hens lay eggs on a 24-hour cycle which means an average of one egg per day but there are breeds that will lay more. Over the fall and winter months hens will not lay as often, if at all, unless they are housed and managed with artificial light cycles, as is done by large egg producers. Chickens also will not lay, under nearly any circumstances, while they are undergoing the once-a-year process of replacing their old feathers (known as molting.)
Traditional Storage Methods for Eggs
Because of a hen's egg laying cycle, traditionally farmers would have a glut of eggs in spring and not many in winter. This led to a number of processes to store eggs so that they could be used at a later date. Waterglass, or sodium silicate, was most commonly used. The powder was mixed with water to make a solution and then used to cover eggs stored in a stoneware crock.
Old-timers who used this method claim eggs could be kept fresh this way for up to two years. In the mid 1940s, the USDA recommended using lime to preserve eggs in a similar process. Purdue University suggested rubbing eggs with food grade mineral oil to keep them fresh for six to eight months.
The Refrigeration Debate
Since the modernizing of food storage, most traditional methods are no longer used in the U.S. It is a uniquely American ideal, however, that eggs need to be refrigerated. The USDA recommends storing eggs in a refrigerator at about 40F degrees, mainly to reduce the chances that any bacteria on the shell will multiply and cause a risk of illness. But throughout Europe (and many other parts of the world,) eggs are routinely sold and stored unrefrigerated and the incidence of illness from eggs is not greatly increased.
In Europe, eggs are still bought daily and from local producers whereas in the U.S. the mass production of food has created a system of transportation that hinders truly fresh food from getting to our markets and tables. The local foods movement and resurgence in farmer's markets is ensuring that consumers who would like a local product for health, environmental or other reasons can do so, but storing a stockpile of eggs can be a challenge.
How to Store Unrefrigerated Eggs
The trick to unrefrigerated eggs is temperature maintenance. Food spoils when it is subject to repeated changes in temperature so ensuring that eggs can be maintained at room temperature or slightly lower will help keep them fresh. If you buy eggs that have been refrigerated you should keep them refrigerated.
Additionally, don’t wash eggs. Eggs have a natural barrier (known as a bloom) that protects the porous surface and washing will remove that safety net. Cooking eggs to the correct temperature (at least 160F degrees) will also protect you from harmful bacteria that may be on the shells. Without any additional preservation techniques, eggs will age faster out of the refrigerator than in it, but will still be safe to eat.
Checking for Freshness
If you opt to try one of the traditional methods of egg storage, you may eventually question whether or not an egg is still fresh. Two easy tasks can help you determine if you can eat your egg. Within each egg is an air space that expands as the contents begin to get older and dry up. This is the key to determining the freshness of your eggs. The easiest test to freshness is to put the egg in a few cups of cold water. If it floats, it is no longer fresh and should not be eaten.
Candling an egg is an alternative method but takes a little more skill. Holding the egg from the small end, put the large end up to a light and look for the air space to be no more than 3/26 of an inch. The yolk should not be distinctly visible and movement should not easily be detected when the egg is turned quickly. In an older egg, the air space will be greater and the yolk will move freely when the egg is manipulated. Additionally, once an egg is cracked open, a firm, high sitting yolk with a tight surrounding white is a good sign of a fresh egg as opposed to a flattened and pale yolk with a runny white.
How to Freeze Eggs
Although it may be inconvenient to store dozens of eggs in the refrigerator, freezing eggs eliminates the bulk of the shell while still preserving eggs for future use. Whole eggs in the shell cannot be frozen as the eggs will burst, but you can freeze an entire egg by beating it (as if you were making scrambled eggs) and then storing it in an airtight freezer container where it will keep for about one year.
Eggs can also be stored separately but to freeze yolks by themselves a little salt or sweetener (depending on whether or not you plan to use the eggs for cooking or baking) will have to be added to keep them from becoming too thick to use. Adding 1/4 teaspoon of salt per cup or 1/2 tablespoon of honey or sugar per cup of egg yolks will help keep them from being unusable after being thawed.
Egg whites suffer from no such tendency to gel and can be frozen individually by putting them in an ice cube tray. Once the whites are frozen, pop them into a bag or freezer container and they, too, can be stored for up to one year. To use your frozen eggs, thaw them overnight in a refrigerator. Three tablespoons of thawed whole egg is the equivalent of one large fresh egg.
BNC101
Store Eggs at a Consistant Temperature
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