How To Preserve Eggs Without Refrigeration

What Is The Best Way To Store Uncooked Eggs?

As I mentioned, several food preservation sources suggest scrambling eggs before attempting to preserve them to avoid risk of contamination by pathogens like salmonella. If you’d like to keep your eggs uncooked for preservation, then freeze drying is still a safe option because of the extreme temperatures of the method.

However, if you don’t have a freeze dryer, what’s the best way to store uncooked eggs?!

The most popular choice is to freeze them. This is really cheating if we’re talking about storing eggs without refrigeration but freezing eggs is very simple and straightforward.

It requires no special equipment beyond the freezer itself. If you have a chest freezer for storing bulk meats, this can be a simple solution to preserving eggs for the short term.

One caution about freezing eggs for storage is that they do require electricity to keep them preserved and frozen. We get nasty winter and summer storms during which we lose power now and then, which is part of why I don’t often freeze eggs myself. However, the process is uncomplicated and can be done with fresh or store-bought eggs.

Freezing Uncooked Eggs For Storage

1. To freeze whole eggs, crack one egg into a muffin tin, ice cube tray, or a silicone mold. I prefer the silicone molds because it’s so much easier to remove the frozen egg once it’s set up. A muffin tin is my next favorite because each cell is bigger than those of an ice cube tray. My older hen’s eggs just won’t fit into an ice cube tray because the cells are too small. Whatever you use, a little oil sprayed or spread inside the container will help release the frozen eggs. That’s true for each of the following steps, too.
2. To freeze yolk and whites separately, simply divide them and place them into their own cells of the tray. I advise you mix the yolk just a little and add a dash of salt. Any time you have yolk exposed, even on the whole eggs (above), sprinkle them with salt to help prevent them developing a grainy texture and that weird freezer taste.
3. To freeze scrambled eggs, mix and fill the cells of your tray. One ice cube-sized amount of egg is the equivalent of a small-medium-sized egg.

Store for up to six months in the freezer. Any longer and the eggs start to taste funky and might be a little flat when you bake with them.

What’s My Favorite Way To Preserve Eggs Without Refrigeration?

My first choice would be freeze dried because:

• They reconstitute exceptionally well.
• The method is usually safe from contamination.
• In a five-tray unit, I can store nearly 6-8 dozen eggs at one time.

“What if I don’t have a freeze dryer,” you ask, and rightly so!

• If you don’t have a freeze dryer, my next suggestion would be to water glass the eggs for safety and for flexibility in use.

A dehydrated egg will technically store longer than a water-glassed egg but you compromise flavor and texture, in my opinion.

What do you think?

Bonus Ways To Preserve Eggs

• Ashley at Practical Self Reliance can teach you how to preserve egg yolks in with salt – the official process is called “curing”.
• Another way to practically store eggs without refrigeration is to keep them in a cool root cellar as close to 45°F/7°C as possible.
• You can also preserve eggs in baked goods like these basic scones for fresh or dried fruit!
• Here are six historic way to preserve eggs without refrigeration from Townsend and Sons – for fun and education!

Always remember to do your own homework about food preservation, best safety practices, and keeping yourself healthy.