Keep-Egg

[ChrisGreaves]

In my youth we were swamped with fresh eggs; the farmers would come into town on Satuday afternoon bearing six dozen eggs each. My job was to quietly move the eggs (or fruit or ...) from the kitchen table after a short interval so as not to embarrass the next farmer who arrived with eggs (meat, fruit etc.).

My job later that evening was to smear each egg with something called, I think, Keep-Egg.

Keep-Egg was a waxy or oily ointment that sealed the egg interior from the air.

Have any of you ever used/heard of this stuff?

In my later years I began to suspect that plain Vaseline would have done the trick.

We stored the “preserved” eggs on the back verandah which was enclosed with a wall of galvanised iron – that is, oven-like – but my mother was still able to work her way through those eggs, primarily for cooking and baking, but also in my teenage years I recall wading into them for my pre-breakfast breakfast of six-egg cheese omelettes.

[HansV]

Never heard of it, but Preserving Eggs has some info about it:

A commercial substance in Australia used to be called "Keepegg." It was a waxy, vaseline-like substance in a jar that you'd smear on the egg shells. It was used a lot during the Second World War, and by people living in remote places. Even Dame Edna mentions her family using it while she was growing up.

[ChrisGreaves]

Never heard of it, but Preserving Eggs has some info about it:

Thanks Hans!
At least I had remembered the name!
And I see it described as a Vaseline-like substance.
Dame Edna was here earlier this month; If only I'd known I could have met her for a cuppa and a bikkie. I know she loves to chat about cooking.

Also I thought isinglass was used only for curtains you can roll right down, in case there's a change in the weather.
Preserving eggs.
I suppose isinglass curtains you can roll right down, in case there's a change in the temperament and they start throwing UN-preserved eggs would be handy!

[Claude]

Another method of keeping eggs for a prolonged period used is to immerse the eggs in waterglass. (See uses about half way down that page)

[BobH]

The things I learn here never cease to amaze.