Our chickens lay really well spring through fall. Then they molt and don't lay much during the
winter months. We've had a shortage of
eggs in the stores off and on lately and I'm sure with that the prices will
likely go up as well. I've always
purchased eggs in the winter time especially around the holidays when we are
baking more and this year I want to be better prepared so I won't need to buy
eggs.
As I acquire a surplus of eggs I've been freezing them. I have them in 2 egg, 3 egg and 4 egg
increments as those are the typical amounts I will use in various recipes. I break the eggs and use my hand mixer to
whip them up for about ten seconds. Then
I pour them into a labeled Ziploc sandwich bag, squeeze out most of the air,
seal it and lay them flat on a plate.
The plate goes to the freezer and once they are frozen I
transfer them to a one gallon Ziploc bag to help further prevent freezer
burn. The gallon bag stays in the
freezer. Whenever I need eggs i will
place a package into the refrigerator until it is thawed and ready to use. It works like a charm.
Now, moving into the future, we will have plenty of eggs to
make cakes, cookies, quiche or omelets, scrambled eggs, waffles or pancakes, or
any other recipe that we use eggs in. In
the meantime we will continue to care for and spoil our hens.
When I had chickens, I froze beaten eggs in 2 oz., 4 oz., and 8 oz. Ball canning jars. This was great for Christmas baking.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea!
DeleteWhat an excellent (eggcellent? haha) idea. Sorry, I couldn't help myself on that one. We've also been experiencing egg shortages here in CA. Thank you for this tip, it never even occurred to me that you could freeze eggs in this way, it's genius!
ReplyDeleteD.
You are a funny girl! Ha!
DeleteI can't wait until our chickens start laying!
ReplyDeleteI knew you could freeze eggs, but I've never done it myself. I considered it when eggs were at $0.75/dozen just before this all began. When we started our preparedness, we worked on the assumption that we wouldn't have electricity, thus no freezer, and no water either, as we have a well. I stored water like crazy in our old house. We have a propane run standby generator now, but I think I might make sure we have a few dozen gallons of water stowed away somewhere. Who's to say we can always get propane delivery?
Farm fresh eggs are the best.
DeleteThat's a great idea! How long do they keep in the freezer?
ReplyDeleteAbout six months I think. I pretty much have them used up by the time the hens start laying again in the spring.
DeleteNow that you have a dehydrator, I have you considered dehydrating the eggs?
ReplyDeleteJeannie@GetMeToTheCountry
That is one thing I don't think I want to dehydrate.....
DeleteWhen we had chickens and eggs were abundant, I dehydrated them and used them when baking. You can't tell the difference. I also used them when making dry mixes like pancake mix. They store for years.
DeleteScramble in a nonstick pan without any oil. Smash with a fork breaking into small pieces about the size of a pea. Dehydrate until it looks like cornflakes. Grind in a coffee maker until it is powder. Use 1 tablespoon egg powder and 1 tablespoon water in a recipe (like a cake mix) to replace an egg.
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry
Really? Hmmmm. I might have to give that a go.
Delete