Commercial Preservation Of Eggs

The usual market method of preserving eggs is by cold storage, an industry that has developed to vast proportions in recent years. The success of this method depends on the fact that germs causing decomposition will not live in a low temperature. While the plan of storing eggs is responsible for their high price at certain times, it is also a means of supplying eggs to many persons who would otherwise not be able to obtain them. The greatest point in favor of this plan, however, is that it makes possible the marketing of quantities of eggs during the winter season of scarcity at a price that, although somewhat high at times, is much more moderate than it would be if it were not possible to store eggs in large quantities.

In order that advantage may be taken of favorable climatic conditions, eggs are commonly purchased for storage as early in the year as they are abundant. They are selected with great care, only those which are clean, sound, and fresh being used. These eggs are packed in clean cases, and then placed in warehouses where they are kept at a temperature just above freezing, or one that ranges from 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit. In such storage, precaution is usually taken to prevent the eggs from freezing, for while freezing does not necessarily injure them for immediate use it breaks the shell because of the contraction that occurs. While the eggs are in storage, they are also protected as far as possible from air circulation, as this increases evaporation and causes the contents of eggs to shrink. To prevent the yolks from settling to one side, and finally adhering to the shell, the eggs are turned frequently. The usual limits of storage are from 6 to 9 months, but eggs are not generally allowed to remain in storage more than 8 months. When taken out at the end of that time, it will be found that they have deteriorated very little, and while they cannot compete with the better grades of fresh eggs, they are as desirable as most of the eggs that can be purchased in the early fall when eggs are not plentiful.

Sometimes eggs are removed from the shells, stored for commercial use in containers of about 50 pounds each, and kept at the freezing point until they are to be used. Eggs in this form, which may be bought with the yolks and whites either mixed or separate, find a ready market in bakeries and restaurants, where large quantities of eggs are continually used. Such eggs remain good for any length of time while they are kept frozen, but they must be used immediately after they are removed from storage.

It is not always necessary to keep eggs at a cold temperature in order to preserve them, for a method that has proved very satisfactory is to reduce them to the form of powder by drying them. In this form, the bulk is greatly reduced, 1 pound of the dry material representing 30 to 40 eggs, and in order to prepare them for use in cooking they must be mixed with water. POWDERED EGGS, or desiccated eggs, as they are usually called, can be kept for an indefinite length of time without special care in storage, when they are wholesome and carefully handled. Tests that have been made show that eggs of this kind give fairly good results when used in cookery, but they are used principally by bakers, for they can be obtained more cheaply than fresh eggs, especially when it is difficult to secure eggs in other forms.