From Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens:)

Pickling:

Pickling is a good way to preserve hard-cooked eggs. Pickled eggs
may be used in place of hard-cooked eggs in salads or in place of
pickles in sandwiches. They also make a great snack.

Over the years, I have prepared many dozens of pickled bantam eggs,
packed hot in boiling vinegar and processed in sealed pint jars in
boiling water for ten minutes. Various experts I have consulted
can't agree on whether or not such eggs are safe for long-term
storage out of the refrigerator. A problem would arise if the
pickling solution did not penetrate all the way through the eggs.

The fresher the eggs, the better. Select small and medium eggs so
the pickling solution can easily penetrate. Half a dozen bantam
eggs will fit into a wide mouth pint jar. One dozen medium eggs
will fit into a wide-mouth quart jar.

For the pickling solution, mix your own vinegar and spices oruse the
juice from prepared cucumber pickles or pickled beets. The eggs
will be more tender if you pour the solution over them when it is
boiling rather than letter it cool first.

Season small eggs for at least two weeks, medium eggs for at least
four weeks before serving them. The acidity in the pickling
solution keeps bacteria from growing, but also causes eggs
eventually to deteriorate. Stored in the refrigerator, pickled eggs
keep well for six months.

Old-Fashioned Pickled Eggs

4-6 whole cloves
1 stick cinnamon
2 cups white vinegar
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
6 hard-cooked eggs

1. Place the cloves and cinnamon in a saucepan with the vinegar,
and bring mixture to a boil.

2. Blend the mustard, salt, and pepper with a little water and stir
into boiling vinegar. Simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Peel the eggs and place them in a jar

4. Pour hot mixture over eggs

5. Cover and refrigerate


Oiling:

Coating eggs with oil seals the shell to prevent evaporation during
storage. Eggs should be oiled 24 hours after being laid so some of
their carbon dioxide can escape and the whites won't take on a muddy
appearance.

Into a small bowl pour white mineral oil, available at any drug
store. The oil must be free of bacteria and mold, which you can
ensure by heating the oil to 180 degrees F (82 degrees C) for 20
minutes. Cool the oil to 70 degrees F (21 degrees C) before dipping
the eggs.

The eggs must be at room temperature (50 to 70 degrees F/10-21
degrees C) and fully dry. With tongs or a slotted spoon, immerse
the eggs in the oil one by one. To remove excess oil, place each
dipped egg on a rack (such as a rack used for cake cooling or candy
making) and leg the oil drain for at least 30 minutes. Catch the
dripping oil for reuse. Discard oil that contains debris or water,
or that takes on a strange color.

Oiled eggs may be used like fresh eggs except when it comes to cake
baking -- oiling eggs interferes with the foaming properties of the
whites so they won't whip up as well as fresh ones. Experiments in
Australia prove that oiled eggs will keep for as long as 35 days at
tropical temperatures. Stored at 50 degrees F (10 degrees C) for
eight weeks or 70 degrees F (21 degrees C) for five weeks, they
retain their flavor better than untreated eggs.

In clean, closed cartons in a cool place, eggs dipped in oil will
keep for several months. Like all eggs stored for the long term,
they'll eventually develop an off flavor. The longer the eggs are
stored, the greater becomes the flavor intensity compared to
untreated eggs. This flavor change is pronounced in eggs stored at
34 degrees F (1 degree C) for more than four months, and by six
months the of flavor is unacceptable to most people.


To be continued...

Misty


