I boiled four eggs. When it comes time to get the shell off I roll them round the counter to break up the shell then peel it. Two of the shells came away in one piece easily leaving a whole egg, but two of the shells seemed to adhere to the egg so that big pieces of egg came away with it.
What went wrong with those two sticky shells ? Is it the way I do it ?
Did you start them in cold water? That usually leads to more difficulty peeling. I personally steam my eggs in a basket, and have found this has led to a lot better peeling results. The other factor is older eggs peel easier than newer eggs.
Here’s a much more thorough and experimental breakdown. Apparently old vs new is not as important unless the “new” egg is really new.
Two things can increase your chances of success:
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Don’t use really fresh eggs (and, yes there do seem to be eggs of varying freshness in the same carton).
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Cool the eggs off quickly in cold water when they are done cooking and before you try to peel them.
The first on is the most important.
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[li]Older eggs tend to peel easier than fresh eggs[/li][li]Breaking the shell before cooling can help[/li][li]Depending on your politics, Obama can be blamed[/li][/ul]
I did start them cold actually, that could be it.
So, several factors
- age of egg
- break before cooling
- start in hot water, as tradition says you should - I cut corners
- cool the eggs before shelling
- steam
So you might want to buy eggs of two different ages - one set for boiling, and another newer set that is less runny and good for frying.
The Food Lab article I referenced above seems to think that this is not as much of a concern for eggs bought in the US unless you are buying them directly from the farmer, and that the cooking method is more important.
Anyhow, I find the steaming method the easiest, the fastest, and the one requiring the least amount of water. You just need about a 1/2 inch - 1 inch of water, and that boils up real fast. Once boiling, throw in eggs in a steamer basket, cover, wait about 12-15 minutes (will depend on various factors, including size of eggs, altitude, etc.), and you’re done. (ETA: And I do mine straight from the fridge, no waiting for it to come to room temp or anything like that.)
What a brilliant egg article.
That’s a good point, why spend money heating all that water ?
I notice he mentions the fat in salmon, which is something I wanted to know about.
We have hens. We put aside eggs to age for hard boiling, otherwise they are nearly impossible to peel.
I really find that dunking the eggs immediately after in cold water does the trick.
ETA: I also peel them in the cold water, rinses off any stray bits nicely.
Steaming, as noted by pulykamell, is the way to do it. I keep chickens and have lots of fresh eggs. By steaming them, I can literally take them warm from the hen and straight into the steam basket. They will peel perfectly.
Plunge into cold water immediately after to stop the cooking process and prevent the blue sulfur ring that forms.
Once you try steaming, you’ll never do it any other way again.
Hmm, I often start from cold and don’t have problems. My usual technique is to crack the large end which is where the air sac is and peel from there making sure you are getting under the skin. Try to take off big pieces. I find smashing up the whole shell gives you problems.
I have an ice bath waiting for the eggs to boil - remove them one at a time (draining spoon) and let sit in water 10 minutes. Doesn’t always work, but mostly it does.
One of the advantages to having your own hens is that you can pencil in the date when you collect them, and so know exactly how old each individual egg is.
Yes, and if the hen has not signed and dated her egg, write up a violation for her.
Thanks to all the eggxperts for your help, I got it cracked now.