Democratic Sentinel, Volume 14, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 October 1890 — THE POULTR-YARD. [ARTICLE]

THE POULTR-YARD.

Preserving Eggs. The requisites for preserving eggs, for use during the weeks of biddy’s vacation, are pure cool air, even temperature and fresh, whole eggs (one stale or cracked is liable to spoil ail within its far-reaching influence). Under these conditions eggs can be kept four to six months by wrapping each in paper with a tight, twist; then pack in baskets and hang from ceiling of the cellar. Or pack in common six-pound wooden starch boxes, slide in the lid, and set where they will keep dry. Where cold storage is available, eggs may be kept by standing in holes bored for the purpose in frames or shelves, and subjecting them to a temperature a little above freezing. The salt and lime mixture is a favorite, because eggs keep well in it in an ordinary cellar. One pint fresh-slaked lime of a creamy consistency, half-pint coarse salt, three gallons fresh water; stir well together, let settle; when clear it is ready for use. Place the eggs on end in a clean stone jar, fill within about an inch and a half of the top, dip over them the clear brine sufflcient to cover, lay several thicknesses of doth on top of the eggs, smear it with some of the creamy paste at the bottom of the jar of brine, fold back the edges of the cloth, not letting it extend over the rim of the jar. Cover with tight-fitting lid, or several thicknesses of paper tied on closely. It is best to use small jars, as frequently disturbing the brine and exposing it to air causes it to deteriorate. In making the brine it is important that the proportions given be carefully observed; if the. lime is too strong the eggs will have a cooked appearance; if too much salt the shells will become thin, but if just right it will keep the eggs in good condition for several years. Bran and salt is a good, simple preservative. Dry the bran in an oven, to destroy possible germs, <3hen mix; with equal quantity of coarse, dry salt, pack the eggs in clean, odorless vessels, in alternate layers with the mixture, beginning and ending with the salt and bran, and filling the spaces between the eggs with it. Cover closely and set in a cool, dry place. Salt tends to absorb moisture; eggs packed in it are liable to taste salty and have their yolks lumpy; the bran obviates this difficulty to some degree. Where salt is used alone or with bran the eggs will remain good if stored in a dry place and the air excluded from them as much as possible. Coating eges is such a tedious process that few care to undertake it; however, if the coating be perfect and the right conditions observed in storing, the eggs will keep for a long time. Other important points in relation to packing eggs, are: If exposed they absorb foreign odors. Once I put some frames of eggs in a cold storage room with some muskmelons; the eggs became decidedly flavored with the melons, and were not at all appetizing. I have always packed “small end down;” they might, for all I know, keep as well, or better, large end down. Removed from conditions in which they were stored, eggs become stale more quickly than fresh ones; hence only enough should be taken out each time for immediate use. A hint as to cellar, the usual place for storing eggs: By closing the cellar windows in the morning before the outside air becomes warmer than that in the cellar, and opening them in the evening when the cool of the night begins, the cellar will remain dryer and the temperature cooler and more even than if the windows are

allowed to remain open during the day. —J. M. Jf. in Xcw York Tribune.