26. While the preservation of eggs is carried on to a greater extent at
present than formerly, the idea is neither new nor original; indeed, it
has been practiced for many years by the people of some foreign
countries. For instance, in some sections of China, duck eggs are
preserved by covering them with a layer of mud, and such eggs are often
kept for a year or more before they are eaten. However, eggs stored in
this way decompose and their odor and flavor disappear before they are
used, so that they must usually be hard boiled before they can be eaten.
Egg preservation such as is practiced in the United States is the
opposite of this and attempts to prevent not only ripening processes and
putrefactive changes but any bacterial or other changes that lessen the
original quality. It will be well to note, however, that eggs preserved
for any length of time deteriorate to some extent and cannot be expected
to be equally as good as fresh eggs.
COMMERCIAL PRESERVATION OF EGGS
27. The usual market method of preserving eggs is by cold storage, an
industry that has developed to vast proportions in recent years. The
success of this method depends on the fact that germs causing
decomposition will not live in a low temperature. While the plan of
storing eggs is responsible for their high price at certain times, it is
also a means of supplying eggs to many persons who would otherwise not
be able to obtain them. The greatest point in favor of this plan,
however, is that it makes possible the marketing of quantities of eggs
during the winter season of scarcity at a price that, although somewhat
high at times, is much more moderate than it would be if it were not
possible to store eggs in large quantities.
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