The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1915-03-31
Water Glass Method of Canning
Eggs.

they will be scarce and dear. Sucil
is the advice of F. C. Hare, poultry
husbandman of Clemson College,
who urges that more South Caro-
lima farmers preserve their eggs this
spring.
There is a big egg surplus is
South Carolina at this particular
season. In many communities, far
mers are glad to get twenty cents
in trade or fifteen cents in cash for
dozen fresh eggs. 9, Mr.. Hare sug-
gests two courses for farmers with
surplus eggs. They may either
grade and pack their eggs carefully
and snip to New York markets,
about which Mr.. Hare will be glad
to give information; or they may
preserve the eggs and hold them
until such time as they are COM
manding higher prices.
One of the best, simplest, least
expensive and most effective meth
DDS of preserving eggs is to place
them in a solution of water-glass, or
sodium silicate. This is a trans
parent liquid that looks like thin,
strained honey, and is used COM
mercially in manufacturing mucilage
1t covers the shell of an egg with
an impervious coating of glue and
prevents the entrance into the egg
of bacteria-laden air, which would
render the egg unfit for food. Eggs
treated with water-glass can easily
be kept in good condition for nine
provided they are perfectly
fresh when placed in the solution.
Procure a five-gallon glazed earth
enware crock with cover, the glaz-
ing being to prevent absorption of
the solution. Buy a quart or more
of sodium silicate or water-glass at
the druggists. Thoroughly rinse
the inside of the crock and it's cover
with boiling water to kill any germ
life that may be there. Boil three
or four gallons of water and allow
to cool. When cold, make a mix
ture of nine parts of this water and
one part of the water-glass.
Fill the crock two-cnirds full with
the preserving mixture. AS the
eggs are gathered daily, put them
into the crock. Do not keep eggs
several days before putting them
in the water-glass, as it is very i'm
portant that eggs go into the crock
the day they are laid. Eggs must
on no account be washed, and all
cracked eggs and those with very
thin shells that might be broken
must be discarded.
Eggs may'be added daily until
the crock is about three-fourths full,
bearing in mind, however, that at
least one inch of liquid must always
be above the top layer of eggs.
Place the cover on the crock and
set in a moderately cool place to
prevent excessive evaporation of the
liquid. Examine the eggs from
time to time and add more boiled
water if it is needed to keep the
solution an inch or more above the
top layer of eggs.
For general culinary purposes,
water-glass eggs are equal to ordi-
nary new-laid eggs. They may be
poached, fried, scrambled or used
in baking, just as they come from
the crock. However, to boil them,
stick a pin into the large end of
the shell before heating and thus
allow the gas inside a hole by
which to escape when heated. The
water-glass solution closes the
pores of an egg shell and acts as a
tin can acts around tomatoes. If an
opening is not made, the shell will
crack while being heated, for the
expanding gas to escape. Yolks
of these eggs "stand up" as do
those of new-laid eggs and the
whites will beat into fine froth.
According to Mr.. Hare, the cost
of preserving eggs in water-glass is
about one and one-half cents per
dozen.