sca-cooks kingdom feast differences

[Philip W. Troy]

I'm afraid this one is mine, too. Someone on rec.food.historic asked how to
preserve eggs (no FAQ for that group, yet?). The substance I quoted was
called waterglass, or a chemical called sodium something-or-other, and I
gave rather lengthy instructions quoted from a 1950's British cookery book.

The general consensus is that eggs, laid straight from the hen, will keep
well for a few days in a dry, not too hot, cradled place. Waterglass hardens
the shells and makes then non-permeable to oxygen. The same effect is
achieved by dipping in cooling wax or smearing with clarified fat such as
lard. Apparently there is another commercial product from Britain in the
50's that involves a fat and a solvent mixed together and smeared on the
eggs. Supermarket eggs (chilled), and eggs that have been commercially
washed, are probably not good candidates for keeping because of the layer of
shell that is removed (microscopic but necessary) that controlls oxidation.
Most of these are not my opinions, folks, but the consensus on another news
group.

Are we confused yet?


Aoife
>------------------------------
>
>From: Mark Schuldenfrei <schuldy at abel.MATH.HARVARD.EDU>
>Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 10:42:17 -0400 (EDT)
>Subject: Re: sca-cooks keeping eggs fresh
>
>  Aoife: Eggs can be dipped in wax for longer life, and kept in a cool, 
>  cradled place. In England into this century it was possible to purchase a 
>  commercial egg-dip product which helped preserve the eggs without 
>  refrigeration. 
>
>This was recently discussed in great detail in the Usenet newsgroup
>rec.food.historic.  Go visit http://www.dejanews.com to find it.  It
>involved a silicon material that is still available, and dipping.  I'm
>afraid I skimmed it, and didn't save it.
>
>	Tibor
>
>------------------------------
>
"Many things we need can wait. The child cannot."
				---Gabriela Mistral, Chilean Poet 1889-1957