How To Water Glass Eggs for Long-Term Storage

Water glassing eggs for long term food storage is an excellent way to make those spring eggs last into the winter. When the hens have slowed their laying, just pop into the pantry and grab your water glassed eggs for “fresh” eggs. This is beginner level easy and you just need three ingredients.

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Water Glassing Fresh Eggs For Long-Term Food Storage

When I first found out that you could store whole eggs in your pantry, long term, I immediately got to work collecting fresh, clean eggs to store.

If you don’t know, water glassing is the preservation method of storing fresh, clean but unwashed eggs in mixture of water and lime in an airtight container.

The part I find most fascinating is that these water glassed eggs, if stored properly, can last up to two years!

Can you just imagine: it’s the middle of winter, you are baking cookies and you realize you are all out of eggs! The horror! But you have no fear because you remember you water glassed eggs in the Spring and you have fresh eggs in he pantry. Score!

Now that is a perfectly realistic scenario and I have been there, seriously. Thankfully, I had my water glassed eggs and had zero problems.

What Do Water Glassed Eggs Taste Like?

This is a very frequently asked question when it comes to water glassed eggs. What is the texture like, does it taste different, do you they actually last?

A very simple answer is that they are just like regular fresh eggs you would have collected that morning. The taste is the same and the texture is too.

I will say I did have a couple that the yolk was runny, but there was no smell, they cooked up great, and the taste was perfect.

My recommendation would be to crack each egg separately into a dish before using them. This way if one egg is a bit funky or you feel uncomfortable, you can toss it to the side.

Fresh, Clean, and Unwashed Eggs.

It is extremely important when water glassing eggs that you do not use eggs covered with dirt, mud, poop, or anything else.

Fresh eggs right from the coop or a farm stand that have not been washed can be water glassed.

Store bought eggs can not be used because the bloom has already been washed off the eggs.

The bloom is the protective coating that is on the egg when it is laid. This protective coating is a barrier between any bacteria and the potential chick inside the egg. Even if your eggs are not fertilized, this coating is still on the egg when it is laid. This bloom, and only the bloom, must still cover the egg when you water glass. If it has been washed off or there is mud, dirt, poop, on the egg the egg can not be used.

If you’re new to chicken keeping and simply want to learn how to safely store your fresh eggs until you can consume them, you can check out this post here.

How To Water Glass Eggs

The process to water glass eggs is very simple. You only need a few things to water glass:

• Half Gallon Jar – these are the ones I use
• Pickling Lime – this is what I use
• Distilled, lukewarm water
• About 16 to 18 fresh, clean, unwashed eggs
• Food scale

To fill your jar, you can do this a couple ways – you can add your water and lime to the jar first or add your eggs to the jar and pour your water mixture over top. Personally, I prefer adding the water mixture first and then the eggs. This ensures the proper water/lime ratio will be in the jar and the eggs will be fully covered.

First, you will use a 1:1 ratio of water to lime. That is 1 quart of water to 1 ounce lime. Mix this together until the lime is not clumpy and it is dispersed throughout the water.

Add this water mixture to your half gallon jar and then gently add your eggs in. Your eggs should be pointed side down as this helps preserve them longer.

Once you have all your eggs in, they should be fully submerged in the water with no eggs poking out of the top.

Place your lid on and close tightly.

And that’s it! Super simple process and your eggs can last up to two years!

Until next time,