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SIMPLE ITALIAN COOKERY

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Art of Living in Australia

Cooking Eggs

Elegant Art of Dining

Guide to Marketing and Cooking

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School and Home Cooking

Physiology of Taste

Tried and True Recipes

Library of Cookery

Hans Christian Andersen . American Fairy Tales . Grimm's Fairy Tales

Aesop's Fables - Tales with Morals . Mother Goose . Mother Goose in Prose

PRESERVATION OF EGGS

CAUSES AND PREVENTION OF DETERIORATION

24. As has been implied in the discussion given thus far, eggs will
deteriorate or spoil in a comparatively short time unless something is
done to preserve them. In view of the eggs she keeps on hand at home, as
well as those she buys, the causes of spoiling and the ways in which to
prevent spoiling are matters with which the housewife should be
familiar, particularly if she would secure for her family eggs of the
best quality at prices that are not beyond her means. The spoiling of
eggs is due to decomposition, which is caused by molds or bacteria that
result from accidental causes, and, in fertile eggs, to the germination
and development of the chick, which is a natural process. The loss of
quality resulting from molds and bacteria in the egg is brought about by
their growth and by the formation of chemical compounds, which give
spoiled eggs their peculiar appearance, taste, and odor. Some of these
molds are not injurious to health, while others may give rise to more or
less serious illness.

25. Various methods have been devised whereby their rapid deterioration
may be prevented, and a knowledge of these is important to those who
have occasion to purchase eggs or to keep them over from the season of
plenty to the season of scarcity. The method followed to prevent losses
due to the development of the embryo consists in the production of
infertile eggs--that is, eggs that are non-productive. This is a point
that is as well worth remembering in the home production of eggs as it
is in professional poultry raising. The method employed to prevent the
infection of eggs by molds and bacteria is to keep them clean and dry
from the time they are laid until they are finally used.

26. While the preservation of eggs is carried on to a greater extent at
present than formerly, the idea is neither new nor original; indeed, it
has been practiced for many years by the people of some foreign
countries. For instance, in some sections of China, duck eggs are
preserved by covering them with a layer of mud, and such eggs are often
kept for a year or more before they are eaten. However, eggs stored in
this way decompose and their odor and flavor disappear before they are
used, so that they must usually be hard boiled before they can be eaten.
Egg preservation such as is practiced in the United States is the
opposite of this and attempts to prevent not only ripening processes and
putrefactive changes but any bacterial or other changes that lessen the
original quality. It will be well to note, however, that eggs preserved
for any length of time deteriorate to some extent and cannot be expected
to be equally as good as fresh eggs.


COMMERCIAL PRESERVATION OF EGGS

27. The usual market method of preserving eggs is by cold storage, an
industry that has developed to vast proportions in recent years. The
success of this method depends on the fact that germs causing
decomposition will not live in a low temperature. While the plan of
storing eggs is responsible for their high price at certain times, it is
also a means of supplying eggs to many persons who would otherwise not
be able to obtain them. The greatest point in favor of this plan,
however, is that it makes possible the marketing of quantities of eggs
during the winter season of scarcity at a price that, although somewhat
high at times, is much more moderate than it would be if it were not
possible to store eggs in large quantities.

28. In order that advantage may be taken of favorable climatic
conditions, eggs are commonly purchased for storage as early in the year
as they are abundant. They are selected with great care, only those
which are clean, sound, and fresh being used. These eggs are packed in
clean cases, and then placed in warehouses where they are kept at a
temperature just above freezing, or one that ranges from 32 to 40
degrees Fahrenheit. In such storage, precaution is usually taken to
prevent the eggs from freezing, for while freezing does not necessarily
injure them for immediate use it breaks the shell because of the
contraction that occurs. While the eggs are in storage, they are also
protected as far as possible from air circulation, as this increases
evaporation and causes the contents of eggs to shrink. To prevent the
yolks from settling to one side, and finally adhering to the shell, the
eggs are turned frequently. The usual limits of storage are from 6 to 9
months, but eggs are not generally allowed to remain in storage more
than 8 months. When taken out at the end of that time, it will be found
that they have deteriorated very little, and while they cannot compete
with the better grades of fresh eggs, they are as desirable as most of
the eggs that can be purchased in the early fall when eggs are not
plentiful.

29. Sometimes eggs are removed from the shells, stored for commercial
use in containers of about 50 pounds each, and kept at the freezing
point until they are to be used. Eggs in this form, which may be bought
with the yolks and whites either mixed or separate, find a ready market
in bakeries and restaurants, where large quantities of eggs are
continually used. Such eggs remain good for any length of time while
they are kept frozen, but they must be used immediately after they are
removed from storage.

30. It is not always necessary to keep eggs at a cold temperature in
order to preserve them, for a method that has proved very satisfactory
is to reduce them to the form of powder by drying them. In this form,
the bulk is greatly reduced, 1 pound of the dry material representing 30
to 40 eggs, and in order to prepare them for use in cooking they must be
mixed with water. POWDERED EGGS, or _desiccated eggs_, as they are
usually called, can be kept for an indefinite length of time without
special care in storage, when they are wholesome and carefully handled.
Tests that have been made show that eggs of this kind give fairly good
results when used in cookery, but they are used principally by bakers,
for they can be obtained more cheaply than fresh eggs, especially when
it is difficult to secure eggs in other forms.

 HOME PRESERVATION OF EGGS

31. The housewife who desires to run her household on an economical
basis will not depend entirely on eggs that are commercially stored, but
will take advantage of one of the many methods by which eggs may be
successfully kept in the home. By being prudent in this matter, she will
be prepared to supply her family with this commodity at times when the
market price is high.

As many as twenty household methods have been tried out for the
preserving of eggs, but each one is based on the theory that decay is
hindered when the shell is covered with some substance that renders it
air-tight and prevents evaporation or the entrance of bacteria and mold.
Among the methods that have met with the most success are burying eggs
in oats, bran, or salt; rubbing them with fat; dipping them in melted
paraffin; covering them with varnish or shellac; and putting them down
in lime water or in a solution of water glass.

No matter which of these methods is adopted, however, it will be well to
note that only eggs laid in April, May, or June should be used for
storage purposes, as these are the best ones laid during the year; also,
that the eggs should always be packed with the small end down, because
the yolk will not settle toward the small end so readily as toward the
large end or the side.

32. Of these various ways of preserving eggs in the home, probably the
oldest method is that of packing the eggs in oats, bran, or salt. This
method is fairly effective, but the eggs preserved by it do not keep so
long as eggs preserved by other methods, nor is their quality so good.
Preserving eggs by completely covering the shells with fat, vaseline,
paraffin, varnish, or other substance that will exclude the air but not
impart flavor to the eggs, proves a more satisfactory method so far as
the eggs are concerned, but it requires more time and handling. To
assist in their preservation, eggs are sometimes immersed in boiling
water for 12 to 15 seconds. This process, which causes the white to
harden slightly just inside of the shell, keeps the eggs fairly well,
but it is rather difficult to accomplish, as the least overcooking
renders the egg unfit for use as a raw egg.

As a result of many trials, it has been found that putting eggs down in
the various solutions that are used for this purpose is the most
effective way of preserving them under home conditions, provided, of
course, the solutions in which the eggs are immersed do not flavor the
eggs. Therefore, to assist the housewife, detailed directions for using
lime water and water glass for this purpose are here given.

33. PRESERVATION WITH LIMEWATER.--To prepare limewater for the
preservation of eggs, dissolve 1 pound or 1 pint of salt and 1 quart of
finely slaked lime in 3 gallons of water, stir the solution at frequent
intervals for a day or two, and then allow the liquid to settle. Place
the eggs in tall stone crocks or kegs with their pointed ends turned
down, filling the receptacles to within a few inches of the top. Pour
the clear limewater over the eggs so arranged, allowing it to rise an
inch or two above the top layer. Then stand the vessel in a cool place
where the temperature will not exceed 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Eggs so
treated will keep for at least 6 or 8 months. The only objection to this
plan is that the eggs preserved by it sometimes acquire a slight
lime taste.

34. PRESERVATION WITH WATER GLASS.--Putting eggs down in a solution of
water glass is without doubt the most satisfactory method of storing
them in the home. So effective does this method prove that the housewife
who has a convenient and proper storage room should not fail to take
advantage of this way of laying up a supply of eggs.

The commercial form of water glass is usually a mixture of potassium and
sodium silicate, which, besides being cheaper than that which is
chemically pure, is the kind that is preferred for the purpose of
preserving eggs. A good quality of it either in a sirup-like solution or
in the form of a powder retails in drug or grocery stores for about 10
cents a pound. To make a solution of the desired strength to preserve
eggs satisfactorily, dissolve 1 part of water glass in 7 parts of warm
water that has first been boiled to drive off bacteria, mold, spores,
etc. One quart of water glass will make sufficient solution to cover
about 12 dozen eggs. With the solution thoroughly mixed, it is ready to
pour over the eggs.

In selecting eggs for the purpose of storing, be careful to choose only
those which are clean, fresh, and perfectly sound, and, if possible,
infertile. It is advisable not to wash them before they are put into the
preservative, for they will keep better if their bloom is not removed.
Place the eggs in receptacles in the manner explained for preserving
eggs in limewater, and over them pour the water-glass solution until
they are all covered. If the eggs so prepared are stored in a cool
place, they will keep as long as those preserved in limewater; besides,
there will be no danger of their acquiring any foreign flavor.

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