Eggs are a popular food and are loved by many people because they meet the three criteria of "delicious, nutritious, cheap". Usually, many families have the habit of storing a lot of eggs in the family for convenient use. Below is a way to preserve eggs for a few months to a year shared by food experts.
How to preserve eggs for the maximum time?
Recently, experts have conducted a test comparing the storage of unwashed eggs in the refrigerator and washed eggs washed with baking soda and lime powder, the results showed that after two months, unwashed eggs spoiled.
Eggs are a type of food with a shell that has a lot of dirt containing salmonella bacteria that cause diarrhea. Currently, in the US and European countries, there are two different concepts of egg preservation. Some states in the US have required farms to wash eggs before selling them and then the washed eggs must be stored in the refrigerator. In large supermarkets in some states of the United States, eggs are completely sold in the refrigerator, their shelf life can be up to 100 days from the time the hen lays them.
Eggs washed with baking soda and lime powder will be preserved longer.
However, in European countries such as England, France, Germany, the opposite is true. Eggs are not washed and are stored at room temperature. The recommended shelf life is from 40-60 days.
In particular, our country has a hot and humid climate, especially in the summer, so leaving eggs outside is not guaranteed. Meanwhile, if not washed and stored in the refrigerator, there is a possibility of spreading bacteria to other foods.
Experts have conducted a test with two new egg cartons. One carton was not washed, sealed and then placed in the refrigerator. A box is washed with baking soda dissolved in water, then soaked in lime water for half an hour, let dry, and then stored in the refrigerator.
After two months, the unwashed egg box has many eggs with moldy black shells and watery yolks. The egg box washed with baking soda and soaked in lime water is still as fresh as a newly laid hen. The reason is that baking soda cleans the eggshell. When eggs are soaked in lime water, the surface of the egg will have a layer of Ca(OH)2. When the egg 'breathes', CO2 gas will be produced, at this time Ca(OH)2 reacts with CO2 to create CaCO3 (limestone). The CaCO3 layer will be able to protect the eggshell well, prevent bacteria from entering and help the egg stay fresh for a long time.
Eggs soaked in lime water will still retain the same freshness as the day the hen laid it and can last from a year to 18 months.
Eggs soaked in lime water will retain the same freshness as the day the hen laid it and can last from a year to 18 months. In fact, this method of preservation has been used since the early 1800s and is now scientifically proven. It is called the "water glassing eggs" method. In the publication "Boston Cooking School Cookbook" by author Fannie Farmer in 1886, there were specific instructions on how to soak eggs in lime solution as a long-term preservation tip.
To do this, they used clean, freshly laid eggs and put them in lime water, then took them out each time they ate. Eggs soaked in lime water still retain the same freshness as the day the chicken laid them and can last for a year to 18 months. Some people even said that their eggs can be used for up to two years.
Nowadays, applying this method is really not simple because most eggs bought in the market have been left for a long time, even washed and bleached. But when you have a lot of clean eggs, you can apply this method.