# Hard Boiled Eggs...how do you mark them? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [October 22, 2025, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-how-do-you-mark-them/1024189 "2025-10-22T11:55:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-how-do-you-mark-them/1024189/1 "2025-10-22T11:55:36Z")
For much of my life I figured everyone did what my mom did with hard boiled eggs: she wrote “HB” on them with pencil and put them in the fridge. Then I noticed my wife draws a cute smiley face on them before putting them in the fridge. How do you do it? Just spin them to find out which is the HB? Never eat HB eggs? Something else? ---
**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:** [October 22, 2025, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-how-do-you-mark-them/1024189/2 "2025-10-22T11:59:26Z")
I cook them in an InstaPot, then peel and into a Tupperware tub. I only make 6 at a time so they don’t need to keep long. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-how-do-you-mark-them/1024189/3 "2025-10-22T11:59:34Z")
I just eat them! Why are you boiling all these eggs and not eating 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:** [October 22, 2025, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-how-do-you-mark-them/1024189/4 "2025-10-22T12:12:15Z")
Same here. Whenever I boil an egg, I immediately eat it, I like them better when they’re still hot. The only exception is that when I go on the road for a longer trip, I’ll pack a lunch bag with some sandwiches and sometimes a few hard boiled eggs. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-how-do-you-mark-them/1024189/5 "2025-10-22T12:12:18Z")
They just go in a bowl, separate from the raw ones. Yeah, we’re _that_ lazy we don’t even mark them. ---
**Author:** ![mattgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@mattgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mattgg)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-how-do-you-mark-them/1024189/6 "2025-10-22T12:43:49Z")
Uncooked eggs are in the box they came in. Cooked eggs are not in the box. Do you put hardboiled eggs back in the box with uncooked eggs? ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-how-do-you-mark-them/1024189/7 "2025-10-22T12:44:13Z")
I use a sharpie to draw a face on them with an eye patch, cheek scar and a goatee. Y’know…to show how hard boiled they are. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-how-do-you-mark-them/1024189/8 "2025-10-22T12:47:12Z")
> [@mattgg](#): > > Uncooked eggs are in the box they came in. Cooked eggs are not in the box. This. Cooked eggs are in a separate container, and it’s not the same sort of container. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-how-do-you-mark-them/1024189/9 "2025-10-22T12:54:53Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > They just go in a bowl, separate from the raw ones. Yeah, we’re _that_ lazy we don’t even mark them. I’ve never heard of marking eggs. I hard boil them and place them in a bowl. My raw eggs are in the container I bought them in so there is never any confusion. Sometimes I leave them in the fridge for awhile since I might make egg salad or cut them up for a regular salad. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-how-do-you-mark-them/1024189/10 "2025-10-22T12:58:39Z")
Honest question - why are you all precooking batches of eggs? I’ve never done it except if I’m specifically boiling eggs to use in a lunchbox. I cook them to order. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-how-do-you-mark-them/1024189/11 "2025-10-22T12:59:41Z")
> [@Ellecram](#): > > Sometimes I leave them in the fridge for awhile since I might make egg salad or cut them up for a regular salad. > [@SanVito](#): > > Honest question - why are you all precooking batches of eggs? I’ve never done it except if I’m specifically boiling eggs to use in a lunchbox. I cook them to order.. Sometimes I leave them in the fridge for awhile since I might make egg salad or cut them up for a regular salad. I use them up within a week or so. ---
**Author:** ![mattgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@mattgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mattgg)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-how-do-you-mark-them/1024189/12 "2025-10-22T13:04:39Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Honest question - why are you all precooking batches of eggs? I’ve never done it except if I’m specifically boiling eggs to use in a lunchbox. I cook them to order. It takes time to hard boil an egg. I can hard boil one egg or a dozen in the same amount of time. I want them to cool down before I eat them. Why would I not prepare them ahead of time? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-how-do-you-mark-them/1024189/13 "2025-10-22T13:04:52Z")
At various times in past life, when stuff was busy & HB eggs are a quick snack and I was cooking for two people I’d boil them up 6 or 12 at a time; whatever number fit the pan well so they weren’t banging around in there. Likewise if planning to make egg salad, etc. As to marking them, I didn’t. Instead I’d saved an old egg carton and marked that with great big Sharpie HB’s all over it. The HB eggs went in the HB carton. The raw eggs stayed in the carton they came in. Nowadays there’s just me and 1 egg is plenty. So it’s cook, peel, eat; no markings required. Generally for breakfast I much prefer a soft boiled / poached egg over HB. Those are cooked to order. Takes a minute-ish. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-how-do-you-mark-them/1024189/14 "2025-10-22T13:16:46Z")
I’ve ever marked eggs but they tend to have cracks with denatured albumin poking out of them… ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-how-do-you-mark-them/1024189/15 "2025-10-22T13:18:12Z")
> [@mattgg](#): > > It takes time to hard boil an egg. I can hard boil one egg or a dozen in the same amount of time. I want them to cool down before I eat them. Why would I not prepare them ahead of time? I guess I just like them super fresh. I have a paranoia of stinky eggs from my youth, I think. I don’t buy ready-made egg sandwiches for the same reason. This also goes part way to explaining a thread we have some years ago about people struggling to peel their eggs. If it’s fresh and hot, no problem! ---
**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:** [October 22, 2025, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-how-do-you-mark-them/1024189/16 "2025-10-22T13:24:02Z")
I didn’t even know this was a thing people did. They’re in separate containers or areas of the fridge the rare time I have an excess. ---
**Author:** ![mtnmatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-how-do-you-mark-them/1024189/17 "2025-10-22T13:31:58Z")
I boil them in advance and put them in a separate bowl, to take to work for breakfast most days. Recently my wife boiled me a dozen but put but them back in the carton without telling me, so i reboiled them myself. They were quite hard. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-how-do-you-mark-them/1024189/18 "2025-10-22T13:36:45Z")
I just spin the egg. If it wobbles and spins slowly like it’s had three martinis, it’s raw — the liquid inside keeps sloshing around, messing with its balance. But if it spins smooth and fast like a tiny NASA satellite on a caffeine buzz, it’s hard-boiled. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-how-do-you-mark-them/1024189/19 "2025-10-22T13:45:10Z")
I cook and peel them, then stick them in a separate container in the fridge. They’re only there for 2-3 days, we use them as snacks or to toss in a salad. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-how-do-you-mark-them/1024189/20 "2025-10-22T13:49:01Z")
I usually mark them with an H in pencil and put them in the fridge. Sometimes, I peel them and put them in a plastic bag to save time later. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-how-do-you-mark-them/1024189.md?page=2)