SC - My feast menu and recipes for your use and consideration

[Terri Spencer]

A friend and I were going through recipe books when we came across the
following:
        "In order to have enough eggs for winter use 
        (hens lay more eggs during March, April, May
        and June on the farm), and to take care of the 
        deluge of eggs during the peak laying months,
        Great-grandma preserved her own.  She might 
        have used mucilage made of gum arabic or
        gum tragacanth dissolved in water; albumen, 
        or the white of egg; collodion, linseed oil, 
        paraffin; shellac, or other varnish; 
        saltpeter, lard, sugar syrup, finely 
        powdered gypsum, or plaster of Paris, 
        dry salt, and various solutions such as 
        lime or soda, in water.  The eggs, after
        having the solution brushed on, dried on a
        bed of dry sand or blotting paper, were 
        then packed, with the small ends down, in
        pails, tubs, or cases in dry bran, meal, or
        flour."      _Cooking with Honey_, page 150

        If anyone is interested, I will ask my friend 
        for the author and other information.  It was 
        her mother's cookbook, probably from the 1940's 
        or so.  

Question:  Where would I look for more information on methods of keeping
eggs before modern conveniences?  Can any of you shed more light on this
subject for me?

Gertraud



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