Chaotic Canning Co

After my water-glassing reel, one question kept coming up over and over again:

“What is the bloom?”

The bloom (also called the cuticle) is a thin protective coating a hen applies to the egg before it’s laid. Think of it as nature’s food-safe sealant. It helps protect the egg by slowing moisture loss and helping keep bacteria out.
It also explains why I keep saying eggs should be clean but unwashed for water glassing.

🥚 Clean = no p**p, bedding, mud, or debris.
🥚 Unwashed = the bloom is still intact.

🌱 During water glassing, the egg’s natural bloom remains intact while the lime solution creates an alkaline environment that helps prevent bacterial growth and spoilage.
I honestly thought that if this reel landed in your algorithm, most people would already know what a bloom was. 😂 Apparently not!

Keep the questions coming. I absolutely love this stuff. The science, the history, the old preservation methods, the “why” behind how things work—I geek out over it.

Take a little trip back in time with me. 🥚

Long before refrigeration, people still needed a way to preserve fresh eggs. One method they used was called water glassing.

Using clean, unwashed eggs and a pickling lime solution, eggs can be stored for extended periods of time while maintaining the protective bloom that naturally occurs on freshly laid eggs.

Is it necessary in a world with refrigerators? Probably not for most people.

Is it fascinating? Absolutely.

Whether you’re interested in traditional food preservation, backyard chickens, preparedness, or simply learning old skills, water glassing is one of those methods that refuses to disappear.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in the garden is that you can’t buy an ecosystem.

Sure, you can buy beneficial insects. But they’re much more likely to stick around when your garden already provides food, water, shelter, and a healthy environment.

That’s one of the reasons I’ve become such a believer in flowers, herbs, mulch, and plant diversity.

The goal isn’t just growing vegetables.

It’s creating a space where everything works together.

And when beneficial insects start showing up on their own, that’s usually a pretty good sign you’re heading in the right direction. 🐞🌱

One of my favorite uses for tallow has nothing to do with winter skin.

After a little too much time outside, my skin can end up feeling dry, tight, and irritated. A thin layer of tallow is one of my favorite ways to add moisture back and help my skin feel comfortable again.

Simple. Effective. A little goes a long way. ☀️💚

apothecary

One of the most common questions I get when people start fermenting:

“What does it mean to burp the jar?”

It sounds a lot more complicated than it is. 😂

Fermentation creates gases, and those gases need somewhere to go. A quick release of pressure and we’re back in business.

If you’re fermenting in swing-top jars, don’t forget to check on them and release that pressure buildup.

If you’ve struggled to grow decent-sized carrots, this might be why. 🥕

When carrots germinate well, they often come up way too crowded. As hard as it is, they need to be thinned so the remaining plants have room to grow.

And yes, I know. The urge to just grab a handful and rip them out is real. 😂

But because the carrot itself is the root, I prefer to snip seedlings at soil level rather than pull them and risk disturbing the carrots I’m trying to keep.

A little ruthless now. Bigger carrots later.

Hi, I’m Erica. 👋

I spent 20 years in business before life completely knocked me off my rocker. Instead of giving up, I decided to build a life that felt more like me.

These days you’ll find me gardening, preserving food, baking bread, making herbal products, pouring resin, throwing pottery, teaching old-school skills, and occasionally turning things like banana peels and eggshells into something useful.

I don’t really fit into one category, and honestly, I don’t want to.

If there’s one thing I hope you take away from this page, it’s that you’re probably capable of a lot more than you think you are.

Thanks for being here. 💚🌱

One of my biggest pet peeves is wasting food.

Fruit is expensive, and if it’s still good but running out of time, I’m going to find a way to use it.

When fruit starts getting soft and only has a few days left, I blend it up, cook it down, and turn it into fruit leather instead.

No dyes.
No preservatives.
No mystery ingredients.

Just fruit, lemon juice, honey, and a pinch of salt.

It’s one of my favorite ways to save food, save money, and turn something that was headed downhill into a snack that’ll last for months. 🍓🍎🍐

My dad always taught me that half a tank is empty. 😂

Maybe that’s why I always fill my watering cans before bed too.

There’s just something really nice about walking outside in the morning and realizing past-you already did you a favor.

Present me is always grateful.

With berry season approaching, I thought I’d answer one of the questions I keep getting lately. 🍓

If you want your berries to last longer in the fridge, don’t wash them until you’re ready to eat them.

The extra moisture helps them mold faster, so store them dry and unwashed in the fridge until you’re ready to use them.

If you’ve already washed extras and need to put them back in the fridge, dry them REALLY well first and store them with as little moisture as possible.

And if you’re freezing berries:
wash → dry completely → bag → label → freeze flat.

Future you will be very happy later. 😂