# Clever hacks that you've never gotten to work **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 25, 2021, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-hacks-that-youve-never-gotten-to-work/933692 "2021-02-25T01:15:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-hacks-that-youve-never-gotten-to-work/933692/21 "2021-02-26T23:36:04Z")
Thanks but cooking them isn’t my problem. It’s the peeling. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-hacks-that-youve-never-gotten-to-work/933692/22 "2021-02-26T23:49:09Z")
I believe the idea is that cooking them that way gets the shell (actually, the inner membrane just inside the shell) to let go of the boiled egg white. My track record? It works except when it doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-hacks-that-youve-never-gotten-to-work/933692/23 "2021-02-26T23:52:24Z")
**commasense & lumpy** are both right. It is how they are cooked that makes them easier to peel. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-hacks-that-youve-never-gotten-to-work/933692/24 "2021-02-26T23:56:48Z")
Maybe it’s just me, but when I do that 90% of the time the eggs crack while they boil. ---
**Author:** ![Ranch\_Dip](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranch_dip/32/5238_2.png) [@Ranch\_Dip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranch_Dip)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-hacks-that-youve-never-gotten-to-work/933692/25 "2021-02-26T23:57:01Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > It’s the peeling. I’ve always heard that the fresher the egg, the harder to peel. I assume because the membrane is more firmly attached? Anyway, as the poster above noted, \*\*Instant Pot. It’s amazing. (\*\*Pressure cooker, it doesn’t have to be the IP.) ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-hacks-that-youve-never-gotten-to-work/933692/26 "2021-02-26T23:59:59Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > Maybe it’s just me, but when I do that 90% of the time the eggs crack while they boil. Putting eggs in cold out of the fridge or after the eggs have come to room temperature? ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-hacks-that-youve-never-gotten-to-work/933692/27 "2021-02-27T00:05:08Z")
Direct from the refrigerator. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-hacks-that-youve-never-gotten-to-work/933692/28 "2021-02-27T00:05:55Z")
Ah, got it. I’ll try it that way then. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-hacks-that-youve-never-gotten-to-work/933692/29 "2021-02-27T00:18:44Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Thanks but cooking them isn’t my problem. It’s the peeling. As others have said, and the article itself says in the first sentence (“The secret to peeling hard-boiled eggs?”), this IS a method for making hard boiled eggs easy to peel. > [@furryman](#): > > Maybe it’s just me, but when I do that 90% of the time the eggs crack while they boil. I usually boil 5-6 eggs at a time, and on average one of them has a crack. I put that down to its already having a nearly invisible hairline crack before I put it in the water, not to cracking in the water. I try to make sure before buying a carton that there are no obviously cracked eggs, but the cracks are not always obvious. Usually I’m boiling them to make egg salad right now, so the cracked one just goes into the mix. I make sure to use an uncracked one if I’m going to save it for later use. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-hacks-that-youve-never-gotten-to-work/933692/30 "2021-02-27T00:24:58Z")
Steaming eggs to hard-cook them works better than boiling as far as easy peeling. Take them straight from the fridge and put them in a steamer inset over an inch of boiling water in a covered pot. Learned that here on the Dope and it’s a vast improvement. Steaming is also less mess and less likely to break eggs than boiling. Instantpotting them may also work just as well, but I’ve never tried it and I’m not going to go to the trouble of pulling out my pressure cooker when I could just steam them. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-hacks-that-youve-never-gotten-to-work/933692/31 "2021-02-27T02:02:41Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > TL;DR: Put cold eggs into already boiling water. Twelve minutes later put them into ice cold water. > > I’ve used this method for years with consistently excellent results. > [@furryman](#): > > Maybe it’s just me, but when I do that 90% of the time the eggs crack while they boil. > [@commasense](#): > > I usually boil 5-6 eggs at a time, and on average one of them has a crack. I put that down to its already having a nearly invisible hairline crack before I put it in the water, not to cracking in the water. I try to make sure before buying a carton that there are no obviously cracked eggs, but the cracks are not always obvious. I make my boiled eggs almost with the same method, though instead of ice water I just run cold water from the tab over the eggs, but I think that has the same effect. But there’s one important point missing to prevent the egg from cracking: before you put the egg into the boiling water, prick a little hole into the dull end. Because we are a nation of engineers, we have a tool for that, the [Eierpicker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_piercer) (egg piercer in English, as I learned from wiki), but a regular fork used with care will do the same job. The reason is that there’s a little pocket of air between the shell and the membrane, and the little hole releases the pressure from the expanding air when the egg is boiled and so it doesn’t crack. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-hacks-that-youve-never-gotten-to-work/933692/32 "2021-02-27T02:08:07Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > But there’s one important point missing to prevent the egg from cracking: before you put the egg into the boiling water, prick a little hole into the dull end. I did this to half of the 2 dozen eggs I last hardboiled to test it. Made no difference. Now I only steam them. No hole-pricking needed. Learned the steaming method from @Chefguy, I believe. It works beautifully. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-hacks-that-youve-never-gotten-to-work/933692/33 "2021-02-27T02:20:55Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Put cold eggs into already boiling water. Twelve minutes later put them into ice cold water. > > I’ve used this method for years with consistently excellent results. Yup. This works great and makes the eggs very easy to peel. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-hacks-that-youve-never-gotten-to-work/933692/34 "2021-02-27T02:27:42Z")
> [@FastDan1](#): > > I’ve opened beer bottles that way before. It does take some force and it tears up the lighter a bit. Back when I used to smoke I got real good at opening bottles with a Bic or other plastic lighter. The Bics really never caused me any issues, at least not the ones I’m thinking of (solid opaque color, kind of ovular in shape). You just wanted to make sure it was snugly nudged between the cap and your finger before levering it with your other hand (while pulling down with the hand holding the bottle; you don’t have to do that, but I find it helps.) Also helps to have the pivot point closer the bottle to avoid chipping the lighter. Now, those translucent lighters where you can see the lighter fluid in – those were a bit more brittle, so you had to have pretty good technique. Once you got the technique down anything flat and sturdy will do. Around the house, I usually use spoons rather than the actual bottle opener I have on my keychain in my pocket. I can even do it with a sheet of paper (folded up.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-hacks-that-youve-never-gotten-to-work/933692/35 "2021-02-27T02:36:20Z")
Huh. I use that one all the time to skin entire heads of garlic. You have to be pretty aggressive with it, but 15-20 seconds and almost all the cloves end up skinned. Maybe try different bowls or a saucepan? (I do mine using a small saucepan usually, but I’ll sometimes pick up two medium-deep bowls. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-hacks-that-youve-never-gotten-to-work/933692/36 "2021-02-27T10:26:59Z")
I don’t ever do a whole head of garlic but for a couple of cloves I’ll use a small Tupperware container with lid, shake for about 15 seconds and skins come completely off. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-hacks-that-youve-never-gotten-to-work/933692/37 "2021-02-27T10:45:56Z")
Add a teaspoon of baking sofa when you boil the eggs. The shells will slip right off with ease, when you go to peel them. I was sceptical but it works a charm! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-hacks-that-youve-never-gotten-to-work/933692/38 "2021-02-27T11:01:13Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Add a teaspoon of baking sofa when you boil the eggs. - I’ll bet they taste divan. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-hacks-that-youve-never-gotten-to-work/933692/39 "2021-02-27T11:14:15Z")
Um, you know it doesn’t get past the shell, right? Absolutely zero flavour difference. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-hacks-that-youve-never-gotten-to-work/933692/40 "2021-02-27T11:20:44Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Um, you know it doesn’t get past the shell, right? > Absolutely zero flavour difference. - Can you couch that in different terms? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-hacks-that-youve-never-gotten-to-work/933692.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-hacks-that-youve-never-gotten-to-work/933692.md?page=3)