How do you hard boil an egg so that the shell comes off without damaging the egg white?
By Brian
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The secret to peeling a hard boiled egg is to place it in ice water after cooking it. Let it sit in the ice water until the egg is cooled. Peeling it under water helps too. This always works for me.
The ice water is my mom's secret too. I have been told the "older" the eggs, the better they peel. It seems to work that way. I look at the expiration dates if I am buying to boil, or use the oldest in the fridge.
I've always used older eggs & ice water too. But it didn't always work. Recently, I saw an "expert" say that if you put a bit of oil in the cooking water, it's absorbed through the shell & makes the shell come off easier.
I always put my eggs in cold water, covering the eggs by about an inch of water-bring to full rolling boil, turn the heat off and let set for 20 minutes. This is using an electric stove, if using a gas stove then let them boil for 2 minutes before turning the heat off. After the 20 minutes pour off the hot water and completely fill the container with water from the cold tap. As soon as I can handle the eggs I start the peeling. I crack the shell on the large end of the egg and the shell will come off in large pieces, leaving the white intact. I have been using this method for over 50 years and seldom have any white divots.
I have found that if you boil the eggs about 10 minutes and then pour off the hot water in the pan and run cold water in with the eggs, then take the eggs two at a time out of the pan. Crack them together, then take the eggs that you have cracked and with gentle pressure with your fingers and thumb "crush" the shell all over and put back into the cold water until you have cracked all the eggs in the same way.
My grandmother always put some salt in the water before putting in the eggs to cook; it is said to harden the egg shells, making them easier to remove. This is what I always do, too.
Well, I will add my 2 cents since no one has mentioned my mother's trick to an easy peelable hard boiled egg. She boils the eggs in water wish just a little more than a cap full of vinegar. Has them boil for a few minutes(sorry I don't know how long but probably similar to the others below).
I put eggs in pan, add water, and put on stove. I leave them there for 10 min after they start boiling. Can drain hot water and rinse with cold to cool them down, makes no difference, they just need to be cool enough to handle. I take eggs one at a time and crack it all over by tapping on the counter. Press on the big end cause there is a air pocket there, and just slowly peel around till all the shell is off. Can rinse the eggs to be sure no little bits of shell remain.
I sent this in before. We have about 40 chickens so I cook a lot of eggs and sell the rest. I was having a lot of problems getting the shell off without ruining the whites until I starting using this method. Most of the eggs I use are fresh from the nest. Only once have I used cold eggs and they did not peel as well as the room temperature eggs. So maybe let them get room temperature before cooking. The shells just slide off like they have been greased. Never will I cook hard boiled eggs any other way.
I found this method on the site Chickens in the Road, before I had trouble removing the shells from boiled eggs. We have chickens so I have used this method the same day the eggs were layed with no problems removing the shells.
Bring the water to boil. Add a dash of salt. Add eggs with a slotted spoon. Boil for 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from heat and drain. Add cold tap water (I put in about 4 to 5 ice cubes) Let cool until able to handle. Crack and the shells will slide off.
Put eggs in cold Water bring to boil. Take Off burner cover with lid, wait 13 minutes. Drain hot water, add cold. Perfect boiled eggs. No dark ring around the easy to peel eggs.
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