How to Preserve Eggs Without Refrigeration (Keeps 12+ Months)

Preserving eggs without refrigeration is a challenge people have faced for centuries. How do you keep the abundance of spring-laid eggs fresh and usable when your hens stop laying in the winter?

Storing eggs in limewater is a time-tested method for preserving fresh, unwashed eggs without refrigeration. This traditional technique uses food-grade pickling lime to seal the eggshells, keeping them fresh for up to a year or more.

Whether you’re raising your own backyard flock or buying from a local farm, it’s one of the most dependable ways to stretch your spring surplus into the winter baking season, no freezer, fridge, or fancy equipment required.

Anyone who keeps chickens knows the struggle: your hens are laying more eggs than you can handle in spring and summer, and then suddenly stop just when the days grow short and you finally feel like baking again. Historically, people had dozens of methods to store eggs for the off-season, but most have drawbacks.

One method stands out for its simplicity, effectiveness, and proven history: storing eggs in a food-safe lime solution made with pickling lime.

I started using limewater preservation because the seasonal rhythm of egg laying never quite matches when I want eggs most. In the spring, I’m buried in eggs but too busy in the garden to bake. By winter, when the days are short and cozy baking season hits, the hens have slowed to a crawl or stopped laying entirely.

We keep our limewater jars on a cool shelf in the basement, right next to the home-canned tomatoes and a crate of root-cellared apples. It’s a satisfying sight in the middle of January—eggs from springtime, still fresh and ready to cook.

Basics of Preserving Eggs

There are literally dozens of ways to preserve eggs. 

They stored them in wood ash, wheat bran, and straw, or coated them with butter or lard, or kneaded them into homemade pasta that was hung to dry.

Most of the methods rely on a few simple principles:

1. Start with clean, fresh eggs.
2. Don’t wash the eggs at all.  That removes their natural “bloom” that prevents bacteria from entering through pores in the shell.  (Grocery store eggs are washed, and will not keep outside the refrigerator.  Do not attempt this, or any other egg preservation technique with grocery store eggs.)
3. Keep the eggs cool, but not too cold.  An egg is a living thing, and it’ll stay fresh best unwashed and at around 50 degrees (root cellar cool).
4. If possible, seal the pores off further to prevent contamination within the egg.  Oil, ash, and lime are the most popular choices.

Simply storing fresh, unwashed eggs in a cool environment (around 50 degrees) will buy you a lot of time.  We’ve taken our fresh eggs and stored them in the basement dependably for up to 4 months, and occasionally as long as 6 months, no treatment required (so long as they’re not washed).

If you’d like to dependably store eggs for longer than 4 months, like if you’re trying to store an overabundance of spring eggs for the next winter’s baking, you’ll need a bit of help to get them to keep that long. 

While many different methods work, most have drawbacks. 

Over the years, I’ve experimented with other traditional methods—storing in wood ash gave the eggs a musty flavor, and salt draws out too much moisture. Traditional waterglass (with sodium silicate) worked, but it altered the eggs enough that whites wouldn’t whip and the flavor wasn’t quite right. (Sodium silicate is used for sealing tile these days, so it’s not exactly considered food safe by modern standards either.)

So what does work?  Storing eggs in a food-safe lime solution made with pickling lime (calcium hydroxide).

Limewater has been the most reliable method by far, with no off-flavors or texture changes.

By storing eggs in limewater, you can preserve the taste, texture, and function of fresh eggs for 8 to 12 months. Unlike other methods—such as coating in lard, burying in ash, or storing in salt—limewater doesn’t alter the flavor or draw moisture from the eggs. When stored properly, lime-preserved eggs can still fry up, bake, and whip like fresh.

How Limewater Preservation Works

Limewater preservation works by sealing the eggshell’s pores with calcium, preventing air and bacteria from entering and stopping moisture from escaping. The lime used in this process is Food Grade Pickling Lime, also known as calcium hydroxide—a food-grade product that’s often used to firm vegetables during pickling.

Though it’s called “pickling lime,” limewater doesn’t pickle the eggs.  The process keeps the eggs in the same state, and once you pull them out of the solution, they can be used just like a fresh egg.  They fry up beautifully, and the white still whip to stiff peaks.

It’s called “pickling lime” because it’s used to firm up veggies before pickling, namely Limed Dill Pickles, and old-fashioned watermelon rind pickles.  It works the same way to firm up the eggshells and seal them at the same time.

Don’t believe me?  Here’s someone cooking with eggs after a full year in lime water:

Is Limewater the Same as Waterglassing Eggs?

These days, many people refer to preserving eggs in limewater as waterglassing, but technically, that’s not quite accurate.

Traditional waterglassing used sodium silicate (often sold as “waterglass”)—a thick, syrupy liquid that was mixed with water to preserve eggs. It was popular in the early 20th century and did an excellent job of preventing spoilage. However, sodium silicate is now more commonly used as a tile sealant or concrete hardener, and it’s no longer considered food-safe for home preservation. Eggs stored in waterglass often developed rubbery whites and wouldn’t whip properly, even if they remained edible.

The method I’m sharing here uses pickling lime (calcium hydroxide), which is still food-safe and easy to find in the canning aisle or online. While it works in a similar way—sealing the eggshell to block air and bacteria—it’s a completely different substance from waterglass.

That said, most people searching online for “how to waterglass eggs” are actually looking for this limewater method. So while it’s not technically waterglassing in the historical sense, this pickling lime method has become the modern go-to for long-term egg storage—and for good reason. It preserves both flavor and texture, and eggs stored this way can still be used for frying, baking, and even whipping.

What You’ll Need

To preserve eggs in limewater, gather the following:

• Fresh, unwashed eggs (laid that day if possible)
• Pickling lime (calcium hydroxide) – food-grade only
• Clean glass jars, ceramic crocks, or food-safe plastic buckets
• Cool storage area (like a basement or root cellar)

Do not use grocery store eggs for this method. Store-bought eggs in the U.S. are washed, which removes the protective bloom and allows bacteria to enter through the porous shell. Only use unwashed eggs from your own flock or a trusted local source.

How to Make Limewater for Egg Storage

To make a saturated lime solution:

• Use 1 ounce (28g) of pickling lime per 1 quart (4 cups) of clean, cool water. This is roughly 2 heaping tablespoons of lime powder.
• Mix the lime and water in a jar or bowl. The solution will turn cloudy, and some lime will settle to the bottom—that’s normal and expected.
• This ratio ensures a saturated solution, providing a consistent seal over time without overusing lime.

One quart of solution is typically enough to fill a half-gallon jar once the eggs are added.

Don’t worry if some lime settles at the bottom of the jar—that’s normal. I’ve found that using about one ounce per quart is the sweet spot: enough to create a saturated solution without wasting lime unnecessarily.

How to Store Eggs in Limewater

1. Select only clean, unwashed, fresh eggs. Check for cracks or dirt—any contamination can spoil the whole batch.
2. Fill a clean jar or container with eggs, placing them pointy-end down if possible, but orientation doesn’t really matter that much.
3. Pour the lime solution over the eggs until they’re completely submerged.
4. Cap the jar (or cover with a lid) and store in a cool, dark place—ideally around 50°F.

A half-gallon mason jar will hold roughly 14 to 18 eggs, depending on size.  You can also use something like these one-gallon glass jars, which will hold about three dozen eggs.

Historically, they would have been stored in wooden barrels or ceramic crocks (like this one that I use to make sauerkraut a gallon at a time). 

Alternatively, a food-safe plastic bucket will work if you want to store them in bulk.

We keep our jars of eggs in the basement, right next to my home-canned goods and root-cellared apples.

Once you’re ready to use the eggs, simply remove them from the solution and give them a rinse before cracking.  Rinsing ensures that the lime solution doesn’t get into the egg as it’s cracked, which will impact the flavor.

Then, cook with the eggs as you otherwise would.

How Long Do Eggs Last in Limewater?

Properly stored, eggs preserved in limewater can last 8 to 12 months or longer. Many homesteaders report success frying, baking, and whipping limewater eggs a full year after preservation. The key is to keep them submerged, cool, and undisturbed.

When you’re ready to use the eggs, rinse each one thoroughly before cracking to avoid introducing lime solution into the egg.

Does It Change the Taste or Texture?

No—when stored correctly, limewater eggs retain their taste and texture remarkably well. They fry like fresh eggs, bake beautifully, and even whip to stiff peaks for meringue and angel food cake. Unlike waterglassed eggs (preserved in sodium silicate), limewater eggs don’t soften or change structurally over time.

Alternative Historical Lime-Based Egg Preservation

I found a reference to preserving eggs in lime water in the book from the 1950s called “Stocking Up.”  It contains all manner of historical food preservation information and has a whole chapter on eggs.

It notes that most people “found some way to clog up the pores of the eggshells so that moisture would not escape and air could not enter.  Eggs were rubbed with grease, zinc, or boric ointment, or submerged in a solution of lime, salt, cream of tartar, and water.”

While stocking up does not give proportions, I found a reference on a historical food and cookery site that suggest this method:

“To one pint of slacked lime, add one pint of salt, two ounces of cream of tartar, and four gallons of water. Boil all together for ten minutes. Skim, and when cold, pour it over the eggs. Lay a light saucer upon the top to keep them underwater, and keep in a cool place. Renew the lime water every three weeks.”

So for that method, you’d need:

• 1 pint slaked lime
• 1 pint salt
• 2 oz cream of tartar
• 4 gallons of water

The downside of this mixed solution is that the salt permeates the shells and will flavor the eggs, so I’d suggest going with a simple lime solution without salt.

Can I Use Grocery Store Eggs?

Unfortunately, no. U.S. grocery store eggs are washed and sanitized, removing the natural protective bloom on the shell. This makes them unsuitable for room-temperature storage or limewater preservation. Use only unwashed, farm-fresh eggs for this method—ideally from your own chickens or a trusted local farm.

In many other countries, eggs are sold unwashed and unrefrigerated, which makes preservation easier. But in the U.S., safe limewater preservation requires unwashed eggs only.

Food Preservation Tutorials

Looking for more historical food preservation tutorials?

• Salt-Cured Duck Breast
• Preserving Cheese in Wood Ash
• Salt Cured Egg Yolks
• 18th Century Farmhouse Cheddar
• How to Preserve a Whole Pig Without Refrigeration

Frequently Asked Questions