A guide to preserving eggs

And thoughts on the perception of preciousness

Jewel-toned pickled eggs from the photo shoot for my next book, The Essential Preserving Handbook

For years, I kept chickens and quail (longtime subscribers will be familiar with my travails after a predatory developer sued me for the land my chickens were on, hence why I no longer keep birds).

Keeping birds is a lived lesson in the fluctuating value of eggs: In summer, a glut means that more eggs than you probably know what to do with. And that you end up finding ways to preserve them out of necessity. Whereas in winter a fresh egg is a precious thing: Few, if any, make an appearance, particularly with a small flock like mine was, and so you supplement with eggs you either preserved earlier or buy in from elsewhere.

This moment's egg prices reminds me of that fluctuation: Whereas in summer it's easy to take eggs for granted (they're always there!) in winter, each egg is a surprise and delight. Its rarity makes it more likely to be appreciated, and I think this moment in the US is making many of us appreciate eggs perhaps more than usual.

I wonder if it will also make us more aware of, and eager to improve, food systems that focus on profits and just-in-time logistics over the health and well-being of people, animals, and planet, though I also am admittedly a bit skeptical that it will.

Over the years I've preserved eggs in many ways, though I've never tried water glassing (a historic method for preserving whole raw eggs that some modern folks swear by and others swear is unsafe). Since the folks who have urged me to not water glass my eggs are food scientists, I've deferred to them and chosen other methods.

Many of you have emailed or otherwise reached out asking for ways to preserve eggs, whether freezing or pickling or whatever else, so I made this guide with a few of my favorites so you have them all in one place.

You can find some of my egg preservation guidance in this issue, and this one, both of which are primarily focused on various kinds of pickling beds and brines.

But there are other options, too: I encourage you to try a couple that seem interesting and that maybe expand your relationship to eggs a bit (e.g. eggs made in pickling beds might not be your favorite to eat as-is, but can you slice them and use them as a topping?)

Here are my favorite ways to preserve eggs: