Water Glassing Questions

[loofa]

Hi everyone,
I have a few water glassing questions!

1. hydrated lime vs sodium silicate. It seems like most blogs and such recommend using hydrated lime, but the only reason they give is because it's "more natural" or "traditional". Are there other reasons to choose one over the other? Do eggs last the same amount of time regardless of which glassing ingredient is used?
2. Can I start a container of the glassing liquid and just add eggs to it daily as I collect? Or does it for some reason need to all happen in the same day?
3. Is there anything different about glassing large duck eggs to smaller eggs such as chicken or quail? I would think not, but so long as I'm asking....
4. Any other advice for a first timer?

Thank you all!!!

 

[Sally PB]

My experience with water glassing:

I used Mrs. Wages pickling lime when I did my eggs last year. I added eggs as I got them.

They worked fine for baking. Hubby didn't care for the texture when we made scrambled eggs. I didn't mind. The yolks nearly always broke, so I had to buy store bought for his over easy breakfast eggs.

When I opened the container to add eggs the second time, I thought something had gone wrong. Some of the lime had come out of solution and had precipitated onto the eggs. It didn't seem to matter.

 

[dr01allen]

true water glassing uses sodium metasilicate (or silicate). lime started to be used in the early 20th century for convenience.
when sodium metasilicate dries, it forms a glassy gel (thus the name water glass).
lime is simply a preservative technique like pickling.
a silicate solution is made by mixing 1 part sodium metasilicate with 7 parts of boiled water. after cooling, the eggs are placed in the solution overnight then taken out to dry and create the water glass coating. the glassed eggs can be stored dry and the solution used for more eggs.
for lime water, use 1 ounce of lime per quart of water. after stirring to dissolve, add eggs gently until the container is full but leave at least 2 inches of solution above the eggs. seal the container to prevent evaporation. after a long period of time, you may find white solids on the botttom eggs, they're OK, just wash them off and use as normal. lime is caustic and may irritate the skin, gloves are recommended when handling the solution and limed eggs.
silicate is more expensive than lime but silicate solution can be reused while lime solution has to stay with the eggs.
both techniques will store eggs for several years.

with silicate, you can glass eggs everyday, as you get them.
limed eggs can be added to daily. it's suggested to use 1 gallon buckets for limed eggs. they'll hold about 12 eggs, have watertight lids, and are easy to handle.

all type of eggs are treated the same.

 

[RedwoodCoastChick]

Where can I find sodium metasilicate? Never heard of it before now.

 

[Mar-Kea]

Where can I find sodium metasilicate? Never heard of it before now.

You used to be able to get Sodium Silicate from a pharmacist. Not sure if you still can or not. You used to mix it, 1 qt Sodium Silicate to 9 qts of boiled, and cooled water. (OR 1 part water-glass to 9 parts boiled, and cooled water) Eggs are placed in the container, large end up, and the solution must be two inches over the top of the eggs. You can find many articles on water-glassing in old newspapers. I have never heard of limeing eggs, until the last few years. Not sure where that came from.

 

[Esther Anders]

true water glassing uses sodium metasilicate (or silicate). lime started to be used in the early 20th century for convenience.
when sodium metasilicate dries, it forms a glassy gel (thus the name water glass).
lime is simply a preservative technique like pickling.
a silicate solution is made by mixing 1 part sodium metasilicate with 7 parts of boiled water. after cooling, the eggs are placed in the solution overnight then taken out to dry and create the water glass coating. the glassed eggs can be stored dry and the solution used for more eggs.
for lime water, use 1 ounce of lime per quart of water. after stirring to dissolve, add eggs gently until the container is full but leave at least 2 inches of solution above the eggs. seal the container to prevent evaporation. after a long period of time, you may find white solids on the botttom eggs, they're OK, just wash them off and use as normal. lime is caustic and may irritate the skin, gloves are recommended when handling the solution and limed eggs.
silicate is more expensive than lime but silicate solution can be reused while lime solution has to stay with the eggs.
both techniques will store eggs for several years.

with silicate, you can glass eggs everyday, as you get them.
limed eggs can be added to daily. it's suggested to use 1 gallon buckets for limed eggs. they'll hold about 12 eggs, have watertight lids, and are easy to handle.

all type of eggs are treated the same.

I see sodium silicate available on Amazon being sold/used for things such as "sealing floors and cardboard boxes". Is this the same as you're talking about?