Any egg-boiling tips?

laurissa
laurissa Member Posts: 773
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Whats the best way to boil eggs to get the shell off easy? I've tried about every way there is and the shells still stick. So, I seldom boil eggs. Any advice?

Comments

  • m_azingrace
    m_azingrace Member Posts: 399
    #2
    Boiling eggs
    This is tried and true:

    1. start with the cold water at least 1" above the eggs.
    2. salt the water generously...I use 2 tablespoons of salt. sounds like a lot, but most of it doesn't penetrate the shell
    3. bring to the boil for 2 minutes
    4. cover with tight lid, and let sit off the heat for 20 minutes
    5. drain, and cover again with cold water

    Don't color any that may have cracked. If they are not going to be colored, peel them immediately and store them in the fridge in cold water up to a week.
    Hard cooked eggs that have cooled are much more difficult to peel than when they have just been done. The eggs are overcooked if the whites are not tender, and/or if there is dark coloration between the yolk and the white. Enjoy.

    I do my eggs in the pressure cooker, but that's a whole different technique.
  • shortscake
    shortscake Member Posts: 228
    #3
    shell off
    I take the shell off in cold water and never have a problem hope this helps girl power
  • Flakey_Flake
    Flakey_Flake Member Posts: 130
    #4
    Eggs
    The way I learned was to start with cold water, boil two minutes, turn off heat and let set the twenty minutes. I could never stand the heat to not cool the eggs before peeling. Maybe that's why I've been struggling all these years. I've also heard that eggs that you've had for a couple weeks peel easier that really fresh eggs. But that was from Gramma, and we're not on the farm anymore.

    Happy Easter you all!
  • m_azingrace
    m_azingrace Member Posts: 399
    #5
    Flakey_Flake said:

    Eggs
    The way I learned was to start with cold water, boil two minutes, turn off heat and let set the twenty minutes. I could never stand the heat to not cool the eggs before peeling. Maybe that's why I've been struggling all these years. I've also heard that eggs that you've had for a couple weeks peel easier that really fresh eggs. But that was from Gramma, and we're not on the farm anymore.

    Happy Easter you all!

    Eggs
    Alton Brown (Good Eats---Food Network), did a program about hard cooked eggs. According to him, older eggs DO peel easier, and I like to believe that too even though it's tough to have vintage eggs around my house.

    Re: peeling hot eggs. I pour off the hot water as soon as the time is up, and replace it with very cold water. This reduces the residual heat so the eggs don't continue cooking, and it also makes the eggs easier to handle. I crack the shells all over and drop them back into the water. Once they are all cracked, I then peel them, holding them under the water. They're a little warm, but not too hot to hold.
  • chenheart
    chenheart Member Posts: 5,159
    #6
    It isn't your cooking technique~ it's science!
    Burning Question: Why Are Fresh Eggs Harder to Peel?

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    If you often cook eggs, you may have noticed that extremely fresh ones are difficult to peel when hard-boiled. The shell doesn't peel back cleanly and often leaves a pock-marked texture on the surface of the egg. But as eggs grow older, their shells peel more easily. Why is this? In fresh eggs, the albumen (egg white) tends to stick to the inner shell membrane due to the less acidic environment of the egg.

    After the eggshell's protective coat slowly wears off, the egg becomes porous, absorbs more air, and releases some of its carbon dioxide. This makes the albumen more acidic, causing it to stick to the inner membrane less. The egg white also shrinks slightly, so the air space between the eggshell and the membrane grows larger, resulting in boiled eggs that are easier to peel.

    For ideal peeling, use eggs that are seven to 10 days old!


    Happy Egg Cooking! :-)

    Hugs,
    Chen♥
  • susanleeann
    susanleeann Member Posts: 58
    #7
    m_azingrace said:

    Eggs
    Alton Brown (Good Eats---Food Network), did a program about hard cooked eggs. According to him, older eggs DO peel easier, and I like to believe that too even though it's tough to have vintage eggs around my house.

    Re: peeling hot eggs. I pour off the hot water as soon as the time is up, and replace it with very cold water. This reduces the residual heat so the eggs don't continue cooking, and it also makes the eggs easier to handle. I crack the shells all over and drop them back into the water. Once they are all cracked, I then peel them, holding them under the water. They're a little warm, but not too hot to hold.

    yes, yes, yes. if the eggs
    yes, yes, yes. if the eggs are a minimum of 5 days. peeling is quite easy.
  • Dot53
    Dot53 Member Posts: 239 Member
    #8
    I bought a Oster hard boiled
    I bought a Oster hard boiled egg cooker and poacher for $30.00.. best investment I ever made.. perfect eggs every time and easy to peel...
  • Rague
    Rague Member Posts: 3,653 Member
    #9
    The newer they are the
    The newer they are the harder to peel.
    ther than that what works the best for me is to put the eggs in water that is as cold as they are (even if you have to put a few ice cubes in the water) before starting to boil them and then rapidly going from the boiling water when done into COLD water. I very seldom have any problems with peeling eggs.
  • m_azingrace
    m_azingrace Member Posts: 399
    #10
    Rague said:

    The newer they are the
    The newer they are the harder to peel.
    ther than that what works the best for me is to put the eggs in water that is as cold as they are (even if you have to put a few ice cubes in the water) before starting to boil them and then rapidly going from the boiling water when done into COLD water. I very seldom have any problems with peeling eggs.

    "Eggstractor"
    A friend of mine saw this contraption on TV that is supposed to "blow" the shells off the eggs. "Oh, but wait...call NOW, and we'll double your order"...so she got one for me too. Then we had a egg-peeling throw-down. I cooked a dozen eggs, then she took half, and I took half. I had peeled all six of mine while she was still working on the first one. LOL

    So if you ever see a thing called "The Eggstractor"...just laugh. It's just a big joke.

    Then there's the microwave hard cooked egg cooker. That little thing really does work, but it makes only 4 eggs at a time...not nearly enough for my household.
  • DianeBC
    DianeBC Member Posts: 3,881 Member
    #11
    shortscake said:

    shell off
    I take the shell off in cold water and never have a problem hope this helps girl power

    I stick them in cold water
    I stick them in cold water right after they are done boiling. And, crack the big end first, then all of the egg. Comes right off. Good luck!
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #12
    m_azingrace said:

    "Eggstractor"
    A friend of mine saw this contraption on TV that is supposed to "blow" the shells off the eggs. "Oh, but wait...call NOW, and we'll double your order"...so she got one for me too. Then we had a egg-peeling throw-down. I cooked a dozen eggs, then she took half, and I took half. I had peeled all six of mine while she was still working on the first one. LOL

    So if you ever see a thing called "The Eggstractor"...just laugh. It's just a big joke.

    Then there's the microwave hard cooked egg cooker. That little thing really does work, but it makes only 4 eggs at a time...not nearly enough for my household.

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator

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