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AUNT SARAH'S METHOD OF PRESERVING EGGS WITH LIQUID WATER GLASS

(German) - (Pennsylvania Germans)







Aunt Sarah for many years preserved eggs in water glass, or soluble
glass, also known as "Sodium Silicate," a thick liquid about the
consistency of molasses. It is not expensive and may easily be
procured at any drug store. She used the water glass in the proportion
of 10 quarts of water to one pint of the water glass. The water glass,
although in liquid form, is usually sold by the pound, and 1-1/2
pounds equals one pint. The water should always he boiled and allowed
to cool before combining with the water glass.
She was particular to use none but perfectly clean, fresh eggs. She
placed the eggs, narrow end down, in an earthenware crock which had
been well scalded and cooled. When the water glass had been thoroughly
mixed through the water she poured the mixture over the eggs in the
crock.
A stronger solution might be used to preserve the eggs, but Aunt Sarah
declared she used eggs for baking cake which were good at the
expiration of a year, which had been preserved in a mixture of 10
quarts of water to a pint of water glass, and she considered this
proportion perfectly reliable. So I do not see the need of using a
large quantity of the water glass, although many recipes call for a
mixture of one pint of water glass to only 8 quarts of water.
Fresh eggs may be added daily until the crock is filled, having the
mixture at least one inch above the last layer of eggs. It is best not
to wash the eggs before packing, as this removes the natural
mucilaginous coating on the outside of the shell. Place clean, fresh
eggs carefully into the crock containing the water glass and water,
with a long-handled spoon to avoid cracking the shell. Stand the crock
containing eggs in a cool place, cover with a cloth tied over top of
crock, avoiding frequent change of temperature; they should keep one
year. The water glass solution may become cloudy, and resemble a
soft-soap mixture, but this is a natural condition and does not affect
the eggs.
April is considered the best month for packing eggs. Infertile eggs
are to be preferred to others. Carefully remove the eggs from the
water glass mixture with a long-handled spoon when wanted to use, as
the shells are sometimes not quite as hard as when placed in the
crock. The eggs may be used for cooking, baking, in fact, for any
purpose except soft-boiled but should you wish to boil them, a tiny
puncture should be made in the shell of these eggs before boiling.
Ten quarts of water to one pint of water glass will cover about 12 or
13 dozen eggs.







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