Do not wash eggs with water, water removes the protective coating on the outer shell called “ bloom”. Eggs stay fresh longer even without refrigeration if the bloom stays on. If you want to clean eggs, use soybean oil, not water. Soy bean oil replenishes the bloom and does not turn rancid. Store your eggs narrow end down in egg cartons that have been oil sprayed with soybean oil.

Rejuvenate the “ bloom” of the egg by rubbing soy bean oil on the shell with your hand. It extends the freshness by 59 days. Eggs dry out slowly through the eggshell and develop air pockets, but wont, if you coat the shell with soybean oil once a month. Store eggs with pointed end down in egg cartons sprayed with soybean oil.

You can grade eggs yourself: Grade AA for the very freshest, Grade A for good and Grade B for ready to use now. After you oil the eggs, use a room temperature water bath for the “Float Test”. Once you have oiled the eggs, lower them into water in a glass bowl. The eggs that lay on the bottom on their side are freshest, Grade AA, they stay fresh for 90 days if oiled monthly. These are the eggs we use in winter when chickens stop laying.

Eggs that have an airpocket in them will try to stand up (compare egg on top with egg below it). A little float grades an egg “Grade A fresh” we oil those, store them narrow end down in soybean oiled egg cartons and use them within two months. Eggs that stand upright are “Grade B” and are used for baking in the next few weeks. They are oiled and stored narrow end down in a separate oiled egg carton.

Eggs that float are no longer fresh, their yokes will be dissolved inside the egg. We boil them and chop them into dogfood. Before boiling, we hold a flash light behind the egg to look inside and make sure the egg has not spoiled. This is called “candling”. It also shows one yoke or two. If we are not sure, eggs are added to our garden fermenter where they are turned into soil after a year.

If you want to freeze your eggs, crack them and fill a ziplock freezer bag with two eggs. To crack an egg, hit the widest egg part on a flat surface, not the edge of a skillet, that way the bacteria on the outside shell do not get forced inside the egg. Good for 90 days in the freezer. Enjoy.

To peel boiled eggs more easily, boil water first, then insert cold eggs slowly in boiling water so they do not crack, shell will expand away from eggwhite. Bring to boil, boil 4 minutes for soft, pour hot water off, pour cold water in. Tap wide bottom of egg, find air pocket of egg, remove bottom shell, insert egg spoon between shell and membrane, turn around inside between shell and membrane, egg shell will fall right off.