By Kellene Bishop, The Preparedness Pro
Preserving eggs in the refrigerator for 9 months is unfathomable to most people, let alone safely preserving eggs that long without refrigeration. But today I’ll make crystal clear how you can preserve eggs worry-free without compromising your health and taste standards and perhaps I’ll even shed some light on how you came to believe that eggs can only be preserved in a refrigerator.
I assure you that Kellene Bishop has not lost her mind; I’m not some maniacal bad guy accompanied by the theme music from Jaws as I write this. Just read further and you’ll understand that this Preparedness Pro is no fraud but some other trusted entities may have been feeding you a fish story for the past several decades.
Bottom line, if you look at how nature preserves eggs you can learn an awful lot about preserving your own regardless of whether your purchased them at your local superstore or you collected them yourself from your personal brood of hens.
When a chicken lays an egg, it has a natural coating on it known as the bloom. This bloom is a layer of protection for the egg which keeps out oxygen as well as harmful bacteria and germs. It’s very, very common for those who raise chickens for their eggs to collect them and then keep them on the counter until they are ready to use—not put them in the refrigerator. And in fact, the majority of the grocery stores in the world don’t put their eggs in a refrigerated environment. When they’re ready to use the eggs, they either wash them, which eliminates the bloom and any bacteria or germs, or they crack them open—just as is—but take care not to do so over food that they are going to eat. Instead, they crack them into a separate dish or into a clean hand, but never over the food that they are mixing them. Also, in order to not spread the outside germs into the eggs, they never separate them with the egg shells; instead, they use their hands to separate the yolks from the whites.
While it’s absolutely normal for you and I to get our eggs from the refrigerated department of the grocery stores, it’s actually very unusual in the rest of the world; eggs, butter, and most cheese products are usually just sitting on the shelf, not in a refrigerated display. Mind you, that doesn’t mean that the U.S. is wrong in such practice, but it’s important to remember that the majority of steps taken by the food industry are to avoid a lawsuit or to comply with whatever figments of grandeur the USDA wields as it creates various requirements. Such policies are not necessary to practice in your own home. Keeping that in mind, there are several steps you can take so that you can take advantage of great sales on eggs and not have to worry about whether or not they will all fit in the refrigerator.
Preserving Eggs is Easy!
Yes, you can preserve your eggs long-term without worrying about your family getting sick. There are several methods you can use and I’ve written of a couple of ways previously, but my favorite one (because it’s the easiest) is using mineral oil.
All you have to do is warm a quarter cup of mineral oil (just about 10 seconds in the microwave will do). Set your eggs outside of the carton (because it will be hard to get them out one you start using the mineral oil). Put on some food handling gloves (I buy this at one of the warehouses). They are easy to use for safe food handling but they are also a lot less expensive than medical gloves and yet in some circumstances they can be used instead of medical gloves. They are NOT puncture resistant though, so exercise caution if using them for that purpose). Dab a little bit of the warmed mineral oil on your hands and then pick up an egg. Run your oiled hands all over the eggs, making sure to cover it completely with the mineral oil. Don’t worry if you’re putting it on too thick or thin, just so long as every part of it is covered. When you’re finished with an egg, put it in the egg carton, small pointed side down. A quarter cup of mineral oil should easily do 4 to 6 dozen eggs.
Now, store your egg cartons in a cool, dry place. You want the temperature to be about 68 degrees for long-term storage—otherwise storing them like this in your regular room temperature is just fine for a few weeks. Remember, the eggs come out of a warm hen. I’m always asked if this will help the eggs keep longer in the refrigerator too. The answer is yes.
You’ll want to set a reminder on your calendar or cell phone to flip your eggs once a month at which time you’ll simply flip the carton upside down gently so as not to break any of the eggs. Do this every month to maintain the integrity of the egg yolk.
Don’t worry about an egg going bad and you not knowing it. Believe me; in this case the NOSE KNOWS. Rotten eggs smell awful. They won’t be able to sneak up on you. The gas hydrogen sulfide develops as bacteria breaks down the proteins in the egg white, creating that nasty gas smell.
There’s another way to tell if your egg has gone bad. As oxygen gets into the egg, it creates an air bubble inside in place of moisture and carbon dioxide. This will cause the egg to float when placed in cold water (at least double the depth as the length of the egg). Anything other than a floating egg is fine to ingest.
Don’t be put off by the other things that you might see in your egg. Some things may look odd to you, but don’t worry, there is nothing wrong with your egg when you see the little red spots in the yolk. Those spots (usually referred to as meat spots) just mean that a blood vessel ruptured during the formation of the egg. They are diluted as the egg gets older, which means that if you actually see them, your eggs are still quite fresh. Another misinterpreted egg issue is when you see a white strand (chalazae) in the egg white, usually right next to the yolk. It reminds me of a white umbilical cord. They are only there to keep the egg yolk centered and are sometimes more obvious in some eggs than others. Even if you see an egg white that is cloudy or has a yellow or green hue to it, it doesn’t mean that it’s bad. In fact, quite the opposite because it indicates that the carbon dioxide just hasn’t had enough time to escape the egg. Even if you end up with a fertilized egg, it’s still safe to eat.
Of course all of these instructions for egg preservation only apply to eggs which you intend to cook prior to consuming. The nice thing about preserving eggs this way is that your deviled eggs will turn out better. The shells peel off of old hard-boiled eggs easier than fresh ones. In fact, the only downside I have found to preserving eggs this way is that they are pretty much useless when you want to whip up some egg whites. Old egg whites are very difficult to whip into a stiff stage once they’re older than a couple of weeks.
Yes, you can do this method on grocery store eggs. The grocery store egg distributors make sure to wash off the bloom and then refrigerate them. Your mineral oil essentially reapplies the bloom. Of course I always look at the dates on the egg cartons and get them as “new” as possible. This preserving eggs method will allow your eggs to stay good for 9 months and sometimes as much as 12. Obviously, rotating through your eggs is standard, so I like to number or alphabetize my eggs so that I can keep the egg cartons together in the batches that I purchased them. That way if there ever is a problem with a group of eggs, I know where they came from and can look at all of the eggs that I bought in that particular batch. You could also simply use a color marker coding system and get the same result so long as you stick with a particular color cycle.
Mineral oil is the key to preserving eggs
One last thing to mention here; the mineral oil. Mineral oil is found in the pharmaceutical sections along with Pepto Bismal, laxatives, etc. as it’s commonly used to help with bowels issues. However, I only use it for this purpose and with gloves on because it is a petroleum product. Petroleum products do cause estrogen dominance in a woman’s body which then causes a host of other problems in the body. So please don’t use it topically. This also goes for baby oil which is nearly 100% mineral oil except for the addition of a fragrance; though this means that you could also use baby oil in lieu of mineral oil.
Now that you know that preserving eggs is easy, you can use your egg substitutes to bake with and you’ll still have plenty of great eggs for those times when you just gotta have an egg over easy, deviled eggs, poached eggs on toast, homemade mayonnaise or a delectable hollandaise sauce! A good hollandaise sauce makes the little bit of time I have to spend preserving eggs all worth it!
HOT TIP: By the way, Walgreens has eggs on sale for only 99 cents a dozen, limit 3 per person. So I’m purchasing 3 dozen every day this week at two different Walgreens then slathering them all up in mineral oil. Now that you know all about preserving eggs, you can use this strategy too! AND you can take the Walgreens advertisement over to Walmart and Target and buy 3 dozen eggs from them TOO at the same price! Work it! *grin*
Be sure the check out the other articles provided on this topic. Enjoy!
http://preparednesspro.com/eggsactly-right/
http://preparednesspro.com/preserving-fresh-eggs/
http://preparednesspro.com/more-tips-for-preserving-eggs/
For any questions or comments on this article, please leave a comment on the blog site so that everyone can benefit!
© 2013 Of COURSE this post is Copyright Protected by Preparedness Pro/Kellene Bishop. All Rights Reserved. NO portion of this article may be reposted, printed, copied, disbursed, etc. without first receiving written permission by the author. (Then again, laws are only as good as the people who keep them.) Preparedness Pro/Kellene Bishop will pursue all violations of these rights just as vigorously as she does any of her other freedoms, liberties, and protections.
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ever hear of using water glass? old time method for egg preservation.
yes, it’s addressed in one of the 4 detailed articles about preserving eggs.
Kellene – First of all, thank you for everything you have done to help us all be more prepared. I think it’s amazing that you try to answer everyone’s questions while doing a million other things as well.
Secondly, I searched the comments and didn’t see anything regarding heavy mineral oil vs. light mineral oil. Is one preferred over the other? Additionally, is there a particular brand of mineral oil you suggest or use? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
I don’t get that choice when I purchase my mineral oil. I would be concerned about using anything that’s defined as “light” though. There is usually just one choice for mineral oil in the pharmacy section that I purchase from. No specific brand. It’s pharmaceutical grade though.
Thank you so much!
Kellene, I can see preserving eggs directly from the chicken, but after they have sat in a grocery store cooler for several days do you think it is harmful to the eggs to store them at room temperature?
Out of all of the eggs I’ve done, only 1 dozen were considered fresh eggs. All of the others have been from the store. I’ve only had 2 bad eggs over the years.
WHICH DO YOU PREFER–BABY OIL OR MINERAL. I JUST SO HAPPEN TO HAVE LOTS OF BABY OIL ON HAND. BUT IF IT WORKS JUST AS WELL I’LL GO AHEAD AND USE IT–I HAVE HAD IT QUITE AWHILE (OIL).
You don’t want the additional stuff that comes in the baby oil such as the fragrances. Mineral oil only.
You can also get food grade mineral oil — it’s also useful for conditioning cutting boards to keep the wood from drying out and splintering. Food grade mineral oil doesn’t have any fragrances, stabilizers, or other additives that could cause reactions if ingested.
Where can I get Foodgrade mineral Oil from
In the pharmacies, in their stomach flu section.
From Wikipedia:
“The World Health Organization classifies untreated or mildly treated mineral oils as Group 1 carcinogens to humans; highly refined oils are also on the list, in Group 3.” That is in the same group as Benzene and Arsenic.
Why would you put it on your food. The oil may permeate into the egg, and some would get into your kitchen and food from handling.
There is a food grade Mineral Oil, but I doubt that’s something you and I can buy easily. It’s not leagal in EU, and the FDA have a standard on how much of it gets into your food. This is just got bad idea written all over it.
The mineral oil which is found in the pharmacies IS food grade as it’s intended to be used for diarrhea. However, it is still a petroleum product so I’d actually not use it for that purpose. However, Jojoba oil and water glass are other options and are not petroleum products.
so can you use jojoba i use it on my skin all the time so i have lots of it
Yes!
Just wondering. With all the various questions about mineral oil potentially being not as safe, in your opinion, and other than the obvious cost difference, is there any particular reason why you would use mineral oil instead of Jojoba Oil? I understand from reading your other articles that the Water Glass stuff isn’t as convenient. I am new at this so before I start doing something other than what I’ve been doing with my eggs, I want to make sure I won’t somehow mess up and make my family sick simply because I didn’t start with all the facts. (Mineral Oil vs. Jojoba Oil) I am completely addicted to reading all these articles on your website and am very grateful that you do pay such close attention to the details! Thanks again!
Sincerely,
Becky
I use waterglass now more than anything. It’s not a petroleum product, it costs very little, and it’s formula is set, very specific, whereas I’m noticing the mineral egg formuals have begun to change over the past year. There’s nothing wrong with using Jojoba oil though. Waterglass is just as convenient as the other 2 methods, it’s just that it’s hard for folks to find because of it’s labeling. But it’s simple to find on Amazon.
Is the following the one you recommend from Amazon.com?: Water Glass Adhesive and Concrete Sealer by North.
Yep, sure is, but I purchase the actual “Sodium silicate” which comes in a smaller bottle. But you can also find that big one gallon container as you’ve described at Loews.
Do you apply the sodium silicate to the eggs in the same manner as the mineral oil? If not, please elaborate on the correct application method.
I love your site and appreciate all the wonderful work you do to share such quality information with us! I am wondering that if I am going out of town for a while and just want to preserve the 10 dozen farm fresh eggs I already have in the refrigerator for a few extra weeks rather than on the shelf for months could I use olive oil to coat the eggs? This way I don’t have to make a trip to the store for pharmaceutical mineral oil and don’t have to worry about it getting on my hands or in my food. I understand that on the shelf the oil would go rancid, but I have room in the refrigerator and will use the eggs within a month. Will the oxygen barrier of the olive oil help at all at keeping the eggs fresh?
Personally, if it’s for less than a month and they are farm fresh to begin with, and you’re going to be refrigerating them anyway, I wouldn’t worry about putting any oil on them. When the eggs make it to the grocery stores, they are already at 2 weeks and the “best by” date is anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks after that. So I’d say you’re in good shape without having to go through the extra effort for this trip.
Thanks so much! Packing for a 10 hour drive and 9 day trip for 7 people is enough work! I’m glad I don’t have to worry about my eggs too.
I can not figure out why people in this entire country can’t afford Mineral Oil from (Wallyworld) at only $1.48 for a 16 oz container that is enough for most people for 7 years use!
When you flip the eggs do you leave them upside down (big side down) or do you just flip them over and then store again, small side down?
Just like when you flip a pancake on the griddle.
You flip the eggs and keep them in that position for the whole month.
What about dipping eggs in wax to preserve them?
A) That’s expensive B) inconvenient when you want to use the eggs and C) paraffin wax will crack and may actually ADD bacteria to the egg surface since you can’t get it hot enough to kill bacteria before it goes into flames.
In response to the concern of mineral oil being a carcinogen. If things get bad, you will die much faster from starvation than from mineral oil! I think what folks are missing here are keys to survival in the event of a catastrophe. Can some one pass me the oil?
My neighbor uses this method and uses Olive Oil to coat rather than Mineral Oil. Does it have the same effect? He does his on Duck eggs, and I have 4 Chickens but with 4 eggs a day almost we get an abundance. Would love to have the eggs through the times when the chickens stop laying for a few weeks.
Thanks!
Olive oil is a bad idea. It will go rancid and thus do nothing good for the eggs.
Thanks for an informative article. You mentioned making mayonnaise with preserved eggs, but said not to use them raw. Doesn’t mayo have raw eggs in it? At least the recipe I use does. Just want to clarify.
The mayonnaise that you and I typically purchase at the store uses pasteurized eggs which is why it actually does not require refrigeration. However, when I make fresh mayonnaise, yes, I use raw eggs or I’ll use the powdered pasteurized. It just depends on what I’m serving the mayo with.
Can I have your fresh Mayo Recipe
Forgot to say Please! God bless you Sister Kellene!
Yes, if you just put in “mayo recipe” on the search bar, you’ll see the link for it. You’ll Love it!
Thank you Kellene for the informative article.
I have a few dozen hens that are laying in full force at the moment. I would like to be able to preserve the extra eggs in my extra refrigerator for the winter months when they don’t lay or slow way down.
I do not want to use mineral oil and would like to know if you think substituting a more shelf stable coconut oil would work just as well. I will be keeping them refrigerated over winter so I don’t think I need to worry about the coconut oil becoming rancid at room temp. Coconut oil is higher in saturated fats and is a more shelf stable oil. Please let me know your thoughts. And again, thank you!
Nope, the only other choices you have if you want to coat the eggs is jojoba oil or waterglass (sodium silicate)–neither of which are petroleum products.
Why not coconut oil? It’s shelf stable for ages! I’ve been using it from a big bucket for a year and it’s still fine, no change. The only thing would be, I’d think, is that you would have to melt it.
It’s shelf stable when it’s IN A CONTAINER but it certainly will go rancid if exposed to oxygen for long periods of time…say…6 to 9 months.
you’ll need to use either jojoba oil or waterglass (sodium silicate), not coconut oil.
Thanks so much. I’ll look into the Jojoba oil! Much appreciated!
Hi Kellene! This might seem like a silly question, but I’ve got to ask: I preserved about 6 dozen eggs 3 weeks ago, and while they were thoroughly slathered in mineral oil & quite shiny when I tucked them away in their cool dark cubby hole, they’re matte now. Forgive my ignorance here, but this is just due to the mineral oil having dried, correct? The eggs themselves are still protected, I’m assuming? Just had to ask the expert on this one!
Getting my Zaycon whole chicken breasts soon – SO excited to get to (pressure) canning with those babies! Thank you for all the knowledge you share with us!
I think that question has been asked on this thread before actually. That’s normal. Don’t fret. You’ll find that that doesn’t happen though when you use Waterglass/sodium silicate.
Thanks so much for the quick reply. I’ll also look into the waterglass method.
Since egg shells are porous, wouldn’t the mineral oil soak through the shell? Since eggs have a natural bloom on them, why coat them with something else? UNLESS you’re buying store bought. And why would you buy so many eggs at a time? I have 9 hens that provide enough eggs for the two of us. I just think this is a lot of work! Sorry. LOL
The bloom breaks down in 10 days so it won’t protect your eggs beyond that.
Why would I buy so many eggs at a time?? For the same reason why I buy so much wheat, salt, and honey at a time.
If I followed all the steps correctly, would refrigerating the eggs, or at least keeping them below 68 degress help or hurt the preservation time?
Refrigeration actually hurts the preservation time. Once they’ve been refrigerated for more than a day or two, then they need to remain refrigerated. I don’t know the science behind that though actually. I only know that the egg manufacturer/farmer shared this with me and dummy me failed to ask another “why” question. However, since then I have stumbled upon that same advice from others.
Did you mean refridgeration “hurts preservation time” if you refrigerate eggs AFTER the mineral oil treatment? Or is it also a problem if the eggs were refrigerated prior to the mineral oil treatment? Almost all eggs that come from a store would have been refrigerated and probably for a few weeks since that is how long it takes to get them from farm to store. Just want to clarify prior to trying this way of preserving eggs. Thanks.
I’m talking about LONG TERM refrigeration. Sorry that I didn’t clarify that.
So, can the oil, mineral or jojoba, be applied to hard-boiled eggs as well as uncooked eggs? I would think the same principle would allow for the refrigerated storage of hard-boiled eggs for longer periods of time. Why not?
I am also wondering if gloves are really necessary. I mean, gloves are a slight nuisance, aren’t they. Why not just put the eggs in a bowl or dish and use a clean bristle brush to paint the oil on, rotating the eggs until they are well covered, or perhaps even use a piece of oil-soaked paper towel.
I think I read everything on this page above, so forgive me if I missed the answers to my questions? Thanks!
yes, it can. You don’t want to risk putting bacteria on the egg and your hands create oils, especially when they are making friction.
If you want to use way too much oil you could put them in a bowl of it. I suppose that anyone can make a job more difficult.
My hubby is a HUGE prepper, and anything that I can learn in the food preservation department makes him SO happy. Thank you for sharing these tips. We are getting chickens in the near future and were trying to figure out how many to get so we weren’t wasting eggs. This solves that problem, thanks!
What is the purpose of turning the eggs every month?
My dad taught me as a little girl that as long as an egg was stored in a cool place, the shell unbroken, small side down it could last indefinately…so now I’m the crazy lady at the grocery store examing my eggs before buying them, while turning them small side down to preserve the integrity of the inner membrane. Sooo…I’m struggling with the “turn” them once a month. BUT I have a great desire to learn better if I can.
The farmer who taught me this said that it’s to prevent the egg from “going to water” as quickly as when they aren’t turned.
Just found your info..thanks for sharing..will be using for sure.
So after I boil my eggs, I rub my eggs with mineral oil. Do I then put them in a quart jar without anything else, or do I put water or anything else in the jar? And then, do I screw the lid on, or does that matter? Thank you for your answers.
What? No, you don’t boil your eggs–unless you’re only interested in storing hard-boiled eggs. I put mine back in the carton and store them that way, not in a jar.
Don’t know if you’ll get this or not. But finally found a prepping site I can ask a question on. Everything I read says store in a cool dry area. I live in a multi-family building on the second floor. If I store in my closets, or under the beds as some reccomend wouldn’t everything I store then be subjected to temperature variations from heat rising? I don’t have problems adding a fan in my closets to keep the temperature down. But I just want to be able to know what I’m nvesting in my food storage would still be okay. Being on the second floor. My other question is on canning meat. Can I safely add spices to my canned meats. I’m a single mom and am starting to can my own goods. But on nights when I’m not home in time to start dinner I would love to be able to tell my boys go ahead and grab a jar of taco out drain and heat it, or grab a jar of chicken soup, or whatever and know that they are okay with the preseasoned canned good. Since I’m new to prepping any helpful hints offered will be much appreciated.
You CAN add spices to your canned meats, I just don’t add anything other than salt so that I don’t “Pigeon hole” myself into a singular use for the meat. Regardless of where you live in your scenario, the under the beds and closets will be cooler. However, you way have a north facing closet which would be even better. Food still lasts a while in the 70′s, it just last longer if you can keep it below that level. Just rotate through it and you shouldn’t have a problem.
Kellene, honey thank you so much for all your info . It has been extremely useful to myself and my family. I’m married with 3 kids all under the age of 10. I’ve saved more money just of eggs alone than any other product.. SO AGAIN THANK YOU.
When preserving eggs like this are they safe to use in things like cake,brownie,and cookie mixes?
yes.
THANKS A MILLION!!! YA’LL ROCK!!!!!!!!!!
Do you have to wash off the mineral oil before you crack open the eggs? Since you are saying it can be hazardous to womens’ health should we wash it with soap and water before we crack them open?
Nope, you don’t.
Can you can eggs without pickling them.
Yes, using the waterglass method–to be filmed this Saturday and we’ll have it up on YouTube shortly thereafter.
Once you coat the eggs with mineral oi.
Do you need to coat them again? Once a week/monthly?
nope.
My question is; are eggs safe if left in chicken pen for three days?
Typically yes. The bloom that protects them doesn’t degrade until a week to ten days afterwards.
Hi, my Nana lived in England with little refrigeration available. She used to rub egg shells with butter and store them in a shelf. Do you have any issue with this method?
Nope, the pioneers did that too.
So will tallow work on the eggs as does butter? Thx Lindsay
Sometimes my fresh eggs out of the nest have mud or poop on them. Do I wash them with soap & water or just water to remove it? Then put the oil on?
It’s perfectly fine to wash them first, but you needn’t go to the effort of soap and water per se. Most of my friends who raise their own just wipe them off and then put the jojoba oil on it.
Beating the dead horse here………..
I failed to warm the mineral oil before coating the cold from the frig eggs.
Is warming it important when the eggs are already cold or should I add a warmed layer of mineral oil before storing?