Why is it sometimes really easy to shell a hardboiled egg sometimes and very hard others?
Sometimes it is so hard that part of the Egg white comes with the shell.Others it is so easy you can get the shell off in two halves almost.
This doesn’t seem to be related to shelling them hot or cold.
I want only easy eggs to shell, what’s up?
Older eggs are harder to shell than fresh eggs.
One tip is to run them under the cold tap as soon as they’re cooked. That seems to help.
Do you mean older as in days from chicken or older as in days formm boiling?
It has been my expirience that the longer time from boiling the easier to shell!
My sister swears that adding salt to the water makes eggs easier to peel.
It’s the exact opposite, in fact. Fresh eggs are generally much more difficult to peel than eggs that have been allowed to sit in your refrigerator uncooked for one to two weeks.
Q.E.D’s Perfect Hard-cooked Eggs:
Fill a pot with sufficient water to completely cover the eggs and bring them to a boil on high heat. Once boiling, immediately cover the pot and remove from heat. Allow the eggs to sit for 15-20 minutes, then dump out the hot water and fill the pot with cold water. Allow the eggs to sit in the cold water for about five minutes, before draining.
Cooking them this way rather than boiling them makes the whites softer and less rubbery, and prevents the surface of the yolk from turning that unappetizing greenish grey color.
I’ve found that using an upside-down spoon to lift the shell off a hard boiled egg works really well.
I concurr with QED. The fresher the egg, the harder to peel.
-k