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Freezing Fresh Eggs

© Pier Jones

Alternately titled: How to Save Yourself a Trip to Town!

Whether you raise chickens and find yourself with an abundance of eggs, or just find a great deal at the supermarket and decide to stock up, freezing those extra eggs for future use can be quite handy.

Eggs can be successfully frozen, fertile or infertile, for up to 5 or 6 months. As with any food you wish to preserve, be absolutely certain that you start with very fresh eggs, and chill them well before cracking. The eggs must be frozen out of the shell, as the shell would only crack from the expansion during freezing.

Begin by cracking each egg into a bowl by itself prior to adding it to the rest of the eggs. This insures that you do not accidentally add a bad egg to a bowl full of good ones. Checking each egg separately is a good rule of thumb, particularly when dealing with fresh eggs. I usually don't freeze eggs that have a bloody spot in them, though it will not hurt the end product at all. The bloody spot is normal, and can easily be removed by scooping it out with the edge of your broken shell.

You can freeze the whites and the yolks separately for your baking needs. Whites can then be used to make meringues and Angel Food Cake. Whites do not need to be packed with any added salt or syrup, just freeze them as-is, thaw to room temperature, and whip.

Here is a chart to help you decide how the eggs would best be packaged for your own use:

• 8 whites = 1 cup
• 12 yolks = 1 cup
• 5 whole eggs = 1 cup
• 1-1 ½ T yolk = 1 egg yolk
• 2 T whites = 1 egg white
• 3 T whole egg = 1 egg

When freezing eggs, allow ½ inch headspace in your freezer container or canning jar (I like to use half-pint jars, the short ones stack very well in the freezer.). Freezer bags also work well, as you can stack the bags flat, and they take up little space.

Again, Pack the Whites without adding anything to them.

Pack yolks or whole eggs by adding 1 teaspoon salt or 1 Tablespoon light corn syrup or honey to each cup of egg. The addition of salt or sugar prevents the yolk from changing texture when frozen. The eggs should be stirred well, but not beaten, before freezing. Be sure to label each package with the date, amount, and additive used. The packages to which salt has been

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