Questions About How To Hard Boil Eggs

Ken asks…

Would anyone have a suggestion on how to hard boil FRESH eggs (2-3 days old), so that they are EASY to peel?

When I prepare hard boiled eggs, they always seem to stick to the shell making the task next to impossible, and leaving the end result very unappealing. Thank you for the assistance... busy Mom in Michigan

admin answers:

Interesting. My father and I were just discussing this yesterday. You are not dreaming it. Fresh eggs are a pain to crack. Why? First of all keep in mind that the eggs that you bought in the store can sit in a cartoon up to four months before they are sold. Not counting the time that it took them to get in the cartoon. Said but true. While your eggs are only a few days old.
So what does age have to do with the difficulty of boiling an egg? The fresher the egg is the smaller the air bubble is. The older the egg the larger the air bubble is thus causing it to be easer to open. So what happens to the egg that was once in place of this air? As the egg ages it loses water.
If the egg was being incubated the air bubble would have gotten larger because the chick was eating the yolk. And the reason why the chick doesn’t get dehydrated is because of its mother keeping it at a certain humidity.

So what can we do to make fresh eggs turn into nice hard boiled eggs?

For most people they suggest letting your eggs age for a week or two in the refrigerator. Even 3-5 days will help. If you must use fresh eggs though here are some tips.

Boil your eggs quickly. Hard boiled eggs tend to be harder to peel if they are cooked at a lower temperature for a long time.

Put some salt in the water. Putting salt in the water and boiling it will cause the eggs to be boiled at a higher temperature.

I have heard of the vinegar trick and I personally am not sure of what it does. But if you do use vinegar do not let the eggs remain in the water unless it is boiling. If it isn’t boiling the eggs will be drawling in the vinegar because they are permeable. If they are boiling then they eggs will be losing moister (sweating eggs).

Leave you eggs in a hot area. If you leave your eggs at around 100 degrees a chick will most likely not form because the temperature will kill the membrane. Even if a chick does start to form you will not even notice the chick development if you eat it in a day or two. This will cause the egg to sweat and loss water.

Draining the eggs after you boil them, cracking them, and then placing them in very cold water or ice water will also help the egg shells come of. Ice expands things.

Also,
Eggs over 10 days old loss a lot of their nutrients.
Http://www.oneworldfarm.com/ourchickens
Scroll down and you will see how much healthier fresh eggs are for you then the average battery hen eggs.

Hope this helps,

William asks…

Easter is coming - what is the best way to hard boil eggs?

It's not that I dont like hard-boiled eggs, I just have not done it enough to be an expert at it I guess, but somehow when I do hard boil eggs, they just never turn out right. Either they are under-done and/or too hard to get the shell off. This Easter I am going to have to hard-boil at least a couple dozen eggs and am a little nervous about how to do it so they come out right. Suggestions please??

admin answers:

I think the trick is not to boil for too long. Check this out:
http://www.wikihow.com/Hard-Boil-an-Egg

Susan asks…

Who knows the best way to hard boil eggs?

Everytime I try to hard boil eggs...I have trouble peeling them. How can I do it and peel them perfectly.....Who has the best way of doing this?

admin answers:

I put the eggs in a pan with cold water and a little salt. (The salt seals the whites in if the shell cracks.) Bring the water to a rolling boil, boil for five minutes, then turn off the flame.

Cover the pan and let sit for 30 minutes. Drain the cooking water, and run cold water over the eggs. I seldom have problems peeling them, using this method.

Make sure the eggs aren't too fresh, as this will cause problems no matter what method you use. And crack the shell thoroughly before you try to peel the egg. If the shell is cracked all over, it will come off a lot easier.

Charles asks…

How long does it take to hard boil eggs?

say bout 8-12 eggs, how long do they take to boil? i heard something like 3 or 5 min. per egg or something i dunno, HELP!?
oh well then if alton brown says thats what to do then so be it, his word 'is' law when it comes to food, niiice * * * * * :p i love good eats

admin answers:

3 min--for soft boiled....more firm egg needed go for the 5

Carol asks…

How to hard boil eggs so the shell doesn't stick?

Every time I make hard-boiled eggs, the shell is really hard to get off the egg. What am I doing wrong?

admin answers:

Your eggs are too fresh.

My husband and i owned a restaurant for a couple of years. We made tons of egg salad. We always bought the eggs we were using for egg salad a week before we would use them.

The shell sticks to the egg because of that white membrane between the egg and shell. The older the egg, the more that membrane dries out. When the eggs are a week or two weeks old, the shell will peel off much easier.

Try this: buy a dozen eggs and leave them in your fridge for a week - boil them and then peel them. See if it is easier!

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