The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1877-10-02
Keeping Eggs.

The following, from the third Report of the
National Butter and Cheese Association, gives
the method of preserving eggs which is prac-
ticed by large dealers:
To make the pickle, use stone lime, fine
salt and water in the following proportions:
One bushel of lime, eight quarts of salt, %
ten-quart pals of water. The lime must be
of the finest quality, free from sand and dirt
Lime that will slake white, fine and clean.
Have the salt clean and the water pure and
sweet, free from all vegetable or decomposed
matter.
Stake the lime with portion of the water,
then add the balance of the water and the
salt. Stir well three or four times at inter-
walls, and then let it stand until well settled
and cold. Either dip or draw off the clear
pickle into the cask or vat in which it is in
tended to preserve the eggs. When the cask
or vat is filled to depth of Is or Is inches
begin to put in the eggs, and when they lie,
say about one foot deep, spread around over
them some pickle that is a little milky in ap-
pearance, made so by stirring up some of the
very light lime particles that settle last, and
continue doing this as each lot of eggs is
added. The object of this is to have the fine
lime particles drawn into the pores of the
shells, as they will be by kind of inductive
process, and thereby completely seal the eggs.
Care should be taken not to get too much of
the lime in that is, not enough to settle and
stick to the shells of the eggs and render
them difficult to clean when taken out. THE
chief cause OF thin, watery whites in lined
eggs is that they are not properly sealed in
the manner described. Another cause is the
putting into the pickle old stale eggs that
have thin, weak whites). When the eggs
are within fouriinches of the top of the cask or
vat, cover them with factory cloth land spread
on two or three inches OF the lime that set
ties in making the pickle, and it is of the
greatest importance that the pickle be kept
continually up over this lime. A tin basin,
holding about.six to eight dozen eggs. punched
quite full of inch holes, edge muffied with
leather, and suitable handle about three
feet long attached, will be found convenient
for putting the eggs into the pickle. Fill the
basin with eggs, put both under the pickle
and turn the eggs out; they will 60 to the
bottom without breaking.
When the time comes to market the eggs
they must be taken out of the pickle, cleaned,
dried and packed. To clean them, secure
bali of molasses hogshead, or something
like it, filling the same about halt full of wa
ter. Have sufficient number of crates of
the right size Ito hold 20 to Is dozen eggs)
three-quarters of an inch apart. Sink one of
these crates in the half hogshead, take the
basin used to put the eggs by raising it up
and down in tie water, and if necessary to
properly clean them, set the crate up and
douse water over the eggs; then, if any
eggs are found, when packing,
that the lime has not been fully removed from
they should be laid out and land all the lime
cleaned off before packing. When the eggs
are carefully washed, they can be set up or
out in a suitable place to dry. They should
dry quickly, and be packed as soon as dry. In
packing, the same rules should be observed
as in packing fresh eggs.
Watts built in cellar around the walls,
with about half their depth below the sur
face, about four or five feet deep, six feet
long and four feet wide, are usually con-
sidered the best for preserving eggs in, al
though many use and prefer large tubs made
of wood. The place in which the watts are
built, or the tubs kept, should be clean or
sweet, free from all bad edors, and where
steady, low temperature can be maintained
the lower the better, that is, any point above
freezing.