Does the Easter bunny always bring too many eggs? Try freeze drying them.

Easter is a time of warmer weather, chocolate bunnies, and eggs!

To take advantage of this seasonal interest, most stores offer their very best prices for eggs, making spring the perfect time to stock up.

Another way people find themselves with more eggs than they can eat is from having backyard chickens. Raising chickens in your backyard is a quickly growing hobby. A study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that nearly 1 percent of households already have chickens and another 4 percent plan on getting chickens within the next five years. That’s over 13 million Americans participating in the backyard poultry scene.

Whether you plan on buying eggs when they are on sale or you have backyard chickens, you may soon have a surplus of eggs. If refrigerated, eggs can last for 4 to 5 weeks, but are difficult to preserve for a longer time. By far, the best way to preserve eggs long term is with a freeze dryer.

Eggs can be freeze dried both raw or cooked. But in our opinion, the best way to freeze dry eggs is raw.

• Simply crack a large amount of eggs into a bowl and quickly scramble.
• Pour the raw eggs into the trays and freeze dry.
• Grind the freeze-dried eggs into a powder.

About one tablespoon of the egg powder mixed with two tablespoons of water equals one fresh egg. You can then use the rehydrated eggs the same way you would use fresh eggs. Eggs are a great source of protein and vitamins. It is an important food to have on hand and in your emergency food supply. They truly are an egg-cellent food.