Egg Preserver

This ordinary galvanised bucket had an important culinary use. With a wire basket and tongs, it was actually used for ‘water glassing’ eggs. Eggs would be submerged in a pickling lime solution. This solution is made by heating limestone in a kiln to turn it into calcium oxide, then adding water to make calcium hydroxide, known as ‘lime water’. The eggs would effectively be sealed so that bacteria could not enter from the air, thereby preserving them for several months.  

This activity would take place during the spring and summer months, when eggs are more abundant, to be stored for use in the winter.