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Hard Boiled Eggs Tips and Tricks


Gold Post Medal for All Time! 523 Posts
November 21, 2017

Eggs placed on rocks to keep them upright while boiling.I bought a bag of very small quartz-like rocks from Dollar Tree. I plan to use them for a craft project I have in mind. I found another use for the rocks before ever starting my project, keeping eggs upright while boiling.

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I put just enough rocks into the bottom of a saucepan to stand the eggs on. After placing the eggs on the rocks, I add more rocks to cover at least the bottom two-thirds of the eggs. When I fill the pan with water, the eggs will remain upright and stationary. Works beautifully.

Eggs placed on rocks to keep them upright while boiling.

 

Do I plan to drag out these rocks every time I boil eggs? Of course not. The rocks were just an experiment. I wanted to see if I could come up with something from around the house to hold my eggs upright while I am waiting for a nice little wire basket from Amazon. The basket will hold seven eggs in an upright position while they are being boiled.

The eggs are going to taste the same, and perform the same, whether they remain upright while cooking or not. So, why bother? Well, I'll tell you. I made a discovery in my quest for the perfect way to peel boiled eggs.

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I'm sure you know, peeling eggs easily requires that the membrane between the shell and the egg white will release from the white readily. And the best way to make that happen is to get water between the membrane and the egg white.

Cracking the eggs all over is easy. I usually roll them on the divider between the sink bowls. The next step can sometimes be a hassle. That is, picking away a part of the shell and hoping the membrane comes with it. Too often the membrane is stuck solid.

I did the experiment with the rocks to see if keeping the eggs upright while boiling would cause one large air pocket at the upright end of the egg rather than the air space being evenly distributed around the egg. It did.

Eggs placed on rocks to keep them upright while boiling.

 

As a result, I could easily pick away shell and membrane from the tip of the egg. I did one quick bang against the sink divider to start the shell cracking. Then while holding the eggs under running water, I rolled the eggs briskly between my palms to complete the cracking process.

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Using this method, about half of the eggs peeled very easily. The other half? The shell slid off the eggs while I was rolling them between my palms. I didn't even have to peel them.

Another advantage of keeping eggs upright is that the yolk will always be centered. Often, the yolk will migrate to near the shell. This doesn't matter if you are making egg salad. But it can be hard to slice boiled eggs when one area of the white is paper thin. The slice usually crumbles. We want our egg slices atop our holiday platter of potato salad to be uniform and aesthetically pleasing, don't we?

This is my last egg peeling tip for 2017. Any more and I'll be tied for number of posts with 'How Soon Can I Re Dye My Hair'.

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16 More Solutions

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August 17, 2010

When you boil eggs, put a tablespoon of vegetable oil in the water. This makes them easier to peel, because the shells are porous and a tiny bit of oil is absorbed

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November 25, 2014

I have a plastic, long-handled pasta scoop with a hole in the bottom of its bowl and serrated edge. After eggs are boiled, use the scoop to remove them from the pot, eliminating risk of burn because of scalding water, or dropped eggs.

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For those of you who color Easter eggs, it is a "must."

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April 10, 2014

To stop a hard boiled egg from cracking, plunge it in cold water for 7 to 8 minutes.

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Gold Post Medal for All Time! 523 Posts
July 24, 2018

I want my eggs firm enough for slicing but not really hard boiled. I've forgotten them a couple of times and cooked them too long. I found there is a direct relationship between how long an egg is boiled and how easily it can be peeled, and whether there is a green cast to the outer part of the yolk.

A hard boiled egg cut in half.

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June 14, 2005

When you boil eggs, add a little salt or vinegar to the water, bring it to a boil, boil for one minute and remove from heat and cover. Let it stand until cool enough to handle eggs.

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January 4, 2013

When you put the water in the pot to boil eggs, add 1 tsp of baking soda to the water. This will help after the eggs come out, and they will be much easier to peel.

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Gold Post Medal for All Time! 969 Posts
December 30, 2019

When there is a family dinner, I am not allowed in the house without my deviled eggs. I always boil them and once they are cooled, cut them in half and take out the yokes.

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When it comes time to transport them, I always dealt with them sliding in the container. Two days ago, I dropped one in the container, and it fell in upside down.

A container of hard boiled egg halves, flipped onto the cut side.

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Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 204 Posts
November 4, 2009

Use an egg slicer to chop eggs for egg salad, dip or salad topping. First, place the egg in the slicer and slice it one way. Next, turn the egg so the slicer can cut the egg across the slices you already made to create little squares or rectangles of egg.

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DearWebby
March 25, 2005

Here are some tips for boiling eggs in an energy saving manner. To prevent eggs from cracking, make an Anti-Cracker. (I invented this one about 30 years ago.)

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Questions

Ask a QuestionHere are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community or ask a new question.

December 25, 2009

I would like to know how to boil an egg?

By jayasree

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Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 169 Posts
December 26, 20090 found this helpful

I put mine in a sauce pan and let the water reach a rolling boil. Then cover and let them stand for 12 minutes. This will give you hard boiled eggs which are firm but not dry.

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Bronze Feedback Medal for All Time! 102 Feedbacks
December 28, 20090 found this helpful

To avoid the black ring around the yolk, put the raw egg into cold water to cover the eggs. Turn the stove on medium, bring to a boil, turn off, let sit 20 minutes.

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Run under cold water, peel and eat, or use in a recipe.

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December 28, 20090 found this helpful

I use a pan with cold water and boil them for 30 minutes do not put the lid of the pan while you are boiling. then rest for a minute or two then run in a cold water for it easy to peel off.

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December 29, 20090 found this helpful

Put in pot with cold water, add a little vinegar to the water, bring to boil, put lid on and shut off burner. Let set 10 -12 minutes. I add the vinegar in case there is a hair line crack that I can't see. The vinegar will set the protein, and white will not come out of egg while cooking.

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Gold Post Medal for All Time! 846 Posts
December 29, 20090 found this helpful

I pierce the large end of the egg with a needle (this releases the pressure so the egg won't crack while cooking) and place the eggs in a pan of water, bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, cook for twelve minutes and immediately drain and fill with cold water so they stop cooking (this way they won't get the brown ring).

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August 17, 2011

Hard boiled eggs are a delicious protein rich snack and an ingredient in many recipes. However, sometimes rather than a cleanly peeled egg you are left with a mess of ragged egg white stuck to the shell.

Two brown eggs, one peeled part way, on white background.

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October 22, 2012

This is a page about marking hard boiled eggs. If you are storing hard boiled eggs in the same carton as your raw ones, marking will remove the confusion and prevent an accidental mess in the kitchen.

Marking Hard Boiled Eggs

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March 22, 2011

After years of trying to make perfect boiled eggs for Deviled Eggs, and ending up with chunks out of them, I have finally found the answers.

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