I occasionally buy hard-boiled eggs at stores. They always have a distinctive, off-putting flavor but, according to the ingredient listing, are simply eggs. They are also rubbery. What’s going on?
Also: The sell-buy date can sometimes be as long as two months in the future. How can that be? No hard boiled eggs that I make for myself would last that long!
I only bought them once and it was during the height of Covid weirdness and they were out of regular eggs. I agree about the taste. I think it’s because they boil them for a really long time. I make mine with a softer yolk.
I just fell down something of a rabbit hole looking up how eggs are processed. Along with cooking them for longer than you would at home, which leads to the rubbery texture, some commercial processors use sodium benzoate as a preservative, and some use citric acid in the cooking water to make the shells easier to remove.
What I didn’t like about these eggs is that they’re misshapen, due I think to being stuffed in a plastic bag with five other eggs. Plus they’re really expensive. I can get a dozen fresh eggs for less. And I learned a technique to hard boil eggs using a steamer tray that worked well.
Eggs are far, far hardier than a lot of people think. They’re not refrigerated in a lot of the world.
Many of them are sealed with nitrogen, which extends their shelf life.
Using Nitrogen Gas in Food Packaging
While uncooked whole eggs with uncracked shells can last a really long time, once they’re cooked and shelled, there’s been enough opportunity for bacteria to start growing that it’s best to follow the usual cooked food guidelines (like refrigeration and using eggs from opened packages within a few days).
They’re fine for slicing up to put on a salad. I used them once to save time on Scotch Eggs. The eggs started over cooked and didn’t get any better so I’m doing that again unless I have to make Scotch Eggs in a hurry because of a highly unlikely emergency situation.
Not doing that again maybe?
I’ve never bought already hard boiled eggs. I can understand the Covid issue, but they’re so easy to make.
I dislike peeling eggs, especially those that are unpredictably hard to peel (even eggs out of the same carton), but it’s worth it because I really dislike the smell and texture of commercially prepared hard-boiled eggs. Some of it might be due to preservatives, some maybe to intentional overcooking, some maybe to lack of freshness, but whatever it is, I don’t like the product at all.
Fresh and tasty hard-boiled eggs are so easy to make at home, except for the peeling. You start with the eggs in cold water, bring to a boil, and let stand about 10 to 10½ minutes, then pour out the water and run a bunch of cold water into the pot, and let them sit in cold water another 10 minutes, and they’re ready for whatever immediate use you have for them, or for refrigeration.
Get one of these things. I love mine,
Yes, not. Or no not, depending on how you’d say it, but save for the noted exception it won’t happen again.
Steamer trays work well but you don’t even really need that.
An inch of water in the bottom of a saucepan, boil, put eggs in and cover. Cook 11 minutes (or a little more or less depending on how you like your eggs…after a few tries you’ll have the time dialed in for what you like and it works every time). Remove and drop into a bowl with ice water. Ready to eat ten minutes later (or immediately if you want). Cleanup is a cinch.
Yes, I’ve hard-boiled eggs without using the steamer tray, but the idea is that steaming them makes them easier to peel.
I use my Instant Pot to hard boil eggs, and it works like a charm. You set it to cook at high pressure for 5 minutes, let it sit for 5 more minutes before releasing the pressure, and then put the eggs in ice water for 5 minutes (or more) before peeling. It’s certainly no faster than just boiling or steaming them on the stove, but they peel really easily! I’ve only have trouble with a few since starting to use this method, and even fresh eggs do pretty well.
The packaged ones don’t taste as good as the ones I make at home, but as easy as they are to make, it’s hard if you’re in a hotel room or you’re just trying to pick up a healthy snack on the road.
I too use the 5/5/5 Instant Pot Hard Boiled Egg method. As you say, it doesn’t really save time over conventional methods, but the results are good, consistant, and easy to peel. Eggxactly how I like 'em.
InstaPot or saucepan with water are really the same thing. Water boils at 212F (at sea level…if you are in Denver you need to adjust). Same temp in an instant pot as in a saucepan. Hard boiling eggs is pretty much just boiling water, timing it and dropping them in ice water. I guess an Instapot gets hotter because pressure but you’d only save a minute or two so not really noticeable.
Whatever gizmo you use to do that routine you should have the same results every time.
It is apparently the high pressure of the pressure cooker that helps separate the egg from the membrane.
That may be true.
I cook my eggs in saucepan with an inch of water (so they are boiled and steamed). I then drop them in ice water.
I think it is the ice water that does the trick. My eggs peel super easy (once in a while there is one that is a pain in the arse to peel but those are an exception).