Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens (61 page)

Pickling is a good way to preserve hard-cooked eggs. Pickled eggs may be used in place of plain hard-cooked eggs in salads or in place of cucumber pickles in sandwiches. They also make a nutritious snack.

Over the years, I have prepared many dozens of pickled bantam eggs, packed hot in boiling spiced vinegar and processed in pint jars in boiling water for 10 minutes. Various eggsperts I have consulted can’t agree on whether or not such eggs are safe for long-term storage out of the refrigerator. A problem would arise if the pickling solution did not penetrate all the way through the eggs, which is why I pickle only bantam eggs and the early small eggs laid by pullets.

For the pickling solution, you could mix your own vinegar and spices or use the left-over flavored vinegar from your favorite prepared pickled cucumbers or beets. The eggs will be more tender if you pour the boiling solution over them while it’s hot, rather than letting it cool first.

The fresher the eggs, the better. Select your smallest eggs so the pickling solution can penetrate easily. Half a dozen bantam eggs will fit into a widemouthed pint jar. One dozen pullet eggs will fit into a wide-mouthed quart jar.

Let the eggs season for 2 to 4 weeks before serving them. The acidity in the pickling solution keeps bacteria from growing but also causes the eggs eventually to deteriorate. Stored in the refrigerator, pickled eggs keep well for 6 months.

Pickling is a time-honored way to preserve hard-cooked eggs.

Coating eggs with oil seals the shells to prevent evaporation during storage. Eggs should not be oiled until 24 hours after being laid so some of their carbon dioxide can escape and the whites won’t have a muddy appearance.

Into a small bowl pour white mineral oil, available at any drugstore. The oil must be free of bacteria and mold, which you can ensure by heating it to 180°F (82°C) for 20 minutes. Cool the oil to 70°F (21°C) before dipping the eggs.

The eggs must be at room temperature (50 to 70°F/10 to 21°C) and completely dry. With tongs or a slotted spoon, immerse the eggs in the oil one by one. To remove excess oil, place each dipped egg on a rack (such as a rack used for cake cooling or candy making), and let the oil drain for at least 30 minutes. Catch the dripping oil for reuse, being sure to reheat it before using it. Discard oil that contains debris or water or that changes color.

Oiled eggs may be used like fresh eggs except when it comes to recipes requiring whipped whites — oiling interferes with the foaming properties of the whites, so they won’t whip up as well as fresh ones. Experiments in Australia prove that oiled eggs will keep for as long as 35 days at tropical temperatures. Stored at 50°F (10°C) for 8 weeks or 70°F (21°C) for 5 weeks, they retain their flavor better than untreated eggs.

In clean, closed cartons in a cool place, eggs dipped in oil will keep for several months. Like all eggs stored for the long term, however, they’ll eventually develop an off-flavor. The longer the eggs are stored, the greater the flavor intensity compared to untreated eggs. This flavor change is pronounced in eggs stored at 34°F (1°C) for more than 4 months, and by 6 months most people find the flavor quite unacceptable.

Thermostabilization
of eggs was regularly practiced by housewives during the late nineteenth century. In this process heating the eggs destroys most spoilage-causing bacteria on the shell and seals the shell by coagulating a thin layer of albumen just beneath it. When the egg cools, the coagulated albumen sticks to the egg membrane and cannot be seen when the egg is cracked open. Unlike oiling, this method does not affect the egg’s foaming properties.

Process eggs the day they are laid. Heat tap water to exactly 130°F (54°C). Use a thermometer, since the temperature is critical — the water must be just warm enough to destroy spoilage organisms but not hot enough to cook the eggs. Place eggs in a wire basket (such as a vegetable steamer or pasta cooker). Submerge the eggs in the water for 15 minutes if they are at room temperature or 18 minutes
if they have been refrigerated. Lift the basket, and thoroughly drain and dry the eggs. Thermostabilized eggs will keep for 2 weeks at 68°F (20°C), and 8 months at 34°F (1°C).

Thermostabilization destroys bacteria and protects the quality of the egg white. Oiling minimizes weight loss from evaporation and preserves the quality of the yolk. Combining the two improves an egg’s keeping qualities compared to either method alone.

You can thermostabilize eggs and then oil them or combine the two procedures into one. For a combination operation, heat the oil to 140°F (60°C) and hold it at that temperature. Using a pair of tongs, rotate each egg in the hot oil for 10 minutes, then set the egg on a rack to drain.

As with simple oiling, albumen-foaming properties are reduced by this process. These eggs are therefore unsuitable for making any recipe calling for whipped whites.

Submerging eggs in water glass was the preferred method of storage during the early part of the twentieth century.
Water glass
is a syrupy, concentrated solution of sodium silicate, available from some drugstores and on the Internet. Its purpose as an egg preservative is to minimize evaporation and inhibit bacteria. The water glass imparts no taste or odor, and although it causes a silica crust to develop on the outside of the shell, it does not penetrate the shell.

Put eggs in water glass the same day they are laid. Candle them and eliminate any with blood spots or meat spots. As with the other processes, use only clean (not cleaned) eggs that are free of cracks. Place the eggs in a scalded glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. A 1-gallon (3.8 L) jar will hold about three dozen eggs.

Combine 1 part water glass to 10 parts boiled water. If the solution is not diluted enough, it will become a gel that makes egg handling difficult. Mix the solution thoroughly, and let it cool. Slowly pour the cooled liquid over the eggs until the solution covers the eggs by at least 2 inches (5 cm). Do not save leftover solution. Screw the lid onto the jar to prevent evaporation. If you don’t have many eggs at one time, continue adding eggs and fresh solution until the jar is full, always making sure the solution is at least 2 inches (5 cm) above the eggs at the top.

Store the jar in a refrigerator, basement, or other cool place where the temperature is preferably not more than 40°F (4.5°C). At 35°F (1.7°C), eggs in water glass will keep for 6 months or more. If you wish to hard-cook an egg, use a pin or
tack to poke a tiny hole in the big end to keep the shell from cracking as a result of the silica crust.

Even under the best storage conditions, water glass causes eggs to lose their fresh flavor and become bland tasting. The whites will eventually get thin, and the yolks will flatten when cracked into a pan, making them less suitable for frying or poaching than for scrambling or incorporating into recipes. But even at a temperature as high as 55°F (13°C), eggs in water glass will remain satisfactory for cooking for several months.

YOU NEEDN’T CONCERN YOURSELF
with maintaining a breeder flock if you are content purchasing pullets every 2 or 3 years to raise as replacement layers, or you like the idea of spending only a few weeks per year growing your annual broiler supply. But if you want to hatch chicks from your own eggs, you’ll need to manage your chickens in a way that optimizes the fertility and hatchability of their eggs. Most people who maintain a breeder flock do so for one of three reasons:

For the self-sufficiency of producing the household’s poultry meat and replacement layers

To enjoy the challenge of trying to develop top-quality show birds

To help preserve one or more of the endangered breeds

The chicken, as we know it today, is a man-made creature. All the various breeds were developed by human design from the wild jungle fowl of Southeast Asia. Although genetic differences distinguish one breed from another, exactly when a breed becomes a breed is purely a human invention. A
chicken breed
is commonly accepted as a family of genetically related individuals having the following:

Shared physical characteristics, including the size and the shape of body, head, and comb