Water Glassing Eggs

[bwreyford]

Does anyone know if its ok for me to water glass eggs with writing on them. We mark our eggs daily with a fine point sharpie to keep track of date and pen collected from and I'm wondering if it is still ok to water glass them if they were written on? Thanks and sorry if that has been asked already I looked but didn't see anything.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC

Good question. For me, I would not water glass eggs that had Sharpie on them.

I water glass clean fresh laid eggs, which may only be a couple a day. When I collect eggs, I sort out the clean ones and put them directly into my solution until my container is full.

Let's see what others who water glass think.

@tripletfeb

 

[TooCheep]

Hello @bwreyford.

I've been water glassing for 5-6 years and wouldn't recommend it. Eggs are protected by a thin waxy coating (called the bloom) that is important for water glassing. The bloom prevents the lime water from penetrating into the egg. If the sharpie rubs off any the bloom, then the egg will be ruined. This is also why store-bought eggs (in the US) can't be water glassed. The law requires that they be washed which takes off the bloom.

FYI- Pretty much every question about water glassing is answered in the master thread.

PS- Since this is likely your first year with water glassing, I'd recommend starting relatively small. Get used to the process, allow the eggs to store/age long enough so that when you eat them, you are sure the water glassing did it's job. When you are comfortable with the process, then you can expand your storage next year. Chickens lay the most eggs in the spring and that's when I collect them for use over the winter.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello @bwreyford.

I've been water glassing for 5-6 years and wouldn't recommend it. Eggs are protected by a thin waxy coating (called the bloom) that is important for water glassing. The bloom prevents the lime water from penetrating into the egg. If the sharpie rubs off any the bloom, then the egg will be ruined. This is also why store-bought eggs (in the US) can't be water glassed. The law requires that they be washed which takes off the bloom.

FYI- Pretty much every question about water glassing is answered in the master thread.

There's that thread I was looking for!

 

[tripletfeb]

Thanks for the tag @Wyorp Rock . Usually it's me tagging you! But I agree, OP, I would not risk water glassing eggs that had writing on them. Maybe you can write on the egg carton instead of the eggs themselves?