WHY, year after year, do the shells on my hard boiled eggs stick? archived

Do you take them directly from the pot of boiling water and place them in an ice bath?

Add alot of salt to the boiling water.

Steve's is the ticket. The egg itself has to have time to cool and contract, thus unsticking from the shell.

I think when people say to use "not so fresh" eggs, they mean a week past the sell-by date...not bought last week.

That said: Hard boiled eggs gross me out - I've never made one.

I had the same problem, but only when the eggs were cold! I'd refrigerated them. Should they not be refrigerated, then, and simply put from the water into the ice bath, kind of to shock the system?

Posted By: RobBI think when people say to use "not so fresh" eggs, they mean a week past the sell-by date...not bought last week.

ick. who wants to risk eating week old eggs?

if you do a topic search for "eggs," believe it or not, there are several threads on the topic of peeling hard boiled eggs.

I use raw eggs

Posted By: eireI've tried several tricks. Please don't tell me my eggs are "too fresh." I bought them last week!

Your eggs are too fresh. :bigsmile:

Last year I bought eggs to make deviled eggs and after me telling people you can't use fresh eggs, duh, I bought fresh eggs... I couldn't peel them and ended up making egg salad...

I wouldn't think a week past sell by date though... maybe a week before?

Once boiled (for 7 minutes) take the eggs off burner and run under very cold water.

Also, while peeling them again run under cold water or in a bowl of water.

Posted By: RobBThat said: Hard boiled eggs gross me out - I've never made one.

I don't eat eggs at all, but I do cook them sometimes.

I would never use eggs that are past their sell-by date for this (or anything, really). The secret is not boiling them for too long, 10 minutes or so, then putting them in cold water right away. When I crack them, I roll them gently under my palm on the counter to make sure the cracks cover the entire egg, including the ends. This also helps the shell separate from the egg. Then I remove the shells while holding the egg under cold running water. I almost never have a problem with shells sticking.

Or you could just buy the already boiled and shelled eggs at the grocery store. Very handy.

In my experience, your best results will come from following this method, although it is NOT foolproof (and usually at least one stupid egg still must be peeled speck by speck!)

Gently place your raw eggs into a pan. (Check them for hairline cracks which will leak or break open during the boil and use those eggs for something else.)

Fill the pot with cool water, till eggs are just covered.

Add a teaspoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of vinegar (helps close the pores of the shells to prevent leakage).

Cover and bring to a boil. When you hear them gently simmering away, turn off the fire and set a timer for 18 minutes.

When the timer goes off, drain the hot water from the pot. leaving the eggs in the pot, and then gently cover the eggs with ice. Then fill the pot with cold water and let the eggs sit till the eggs are cold when picked up out of the bath. Don't leave them too long, or the purpose of the rapid water change is lost. Make sure you have ice-cold water the entire time.

When the eggs are just cold, fish one out, rap each end on a flat surface (I do it in my sink since I have a garbage disposal.) and then roll the egg between your hands till the shell seems to have loosened.

The trick is how you start the peeling! Hopefully, the egg has contracted from the shell bc of the temp change, and sometimes the shell will peel off in large sections!

Good luck!

Posted By: kthnryOr you could just buy the already boiled and shelled eggs at the grocery store. Very handy.

Yes, it is. Shout-out to Eden Gourmet for saving the day with a dozen peeled hard-boiled eggs after I discovered that the eggs I boiled at home had the stick-on shells. Crisis averted.

Now I just want a damned hard boiled egg!

Place eggs in a large saucepan. Cover them with cool water by 1 inch. Slowly bring water to a boil over medium heat; when the water has reached a boil, cover and remove from heat. Let sit 10-12 minutes.

Transfer eggs to a colander; place under cool running water to stop the cooking. Eggs can be peeled and served immediately.

Posted By: ffofPlace eggs in a large saucepan. Cover them with cool water by 1 inch. Slowly bring water to a boil over medium heat; when the water has reached a boil, cover and remove from heat. Let sit 10-12 minutes.

Transfer eggs to a colander; place under cool running water to stop the cooking. Eggs can be peeled and served immediately.

This ^

Posted By: pdg
When the timer goes off, drain the hot water from the pot. leaving the eggs in the pot, and then gently cover the eggs with ice. Then fill the pot with cold water and let the eggs sit till the eggs are cold when picked up out of the bath. Don't leave them too long, or the purpose of the rapid water change is lost. Make sure you have ice-cold water the entire time.

Would definitely try your method if I were going for deviled eggs. However, at Easter, one colors them and refrigerates them until consumption. When the kids did the coloring, they took forever to complete their masterpieces. Now, I just dunk them in color baths, but still it often results in eggs tough to peel. Maybe I should be all grown up and not color eggs?

It's a given that colored eggs don't peel in our house.:wall:

However, other times of the year when I want some egg salad, my eggs jump out of their shells!

Good wishes for a happy, egg-filled Easter to all.

I use the Alton Brown method. Get one of those steaming thingies and put it in a small sauce pan. Add a little water but not so much that it touches the eggs. Put burner on medium-medium high cover and steam for 14 mins. Put eggs into ice bath right away. Perfect eggs every time. Eggs will never break because they are not getting tossed around in the boiling water. More like a nice gently steam shower.

I put eggs in cold water to cover them. Bring to a boil. Remove pot from the heat---cover. Let sit for approx 10 minutes. Put eggs in pot in sink under running cold water. When it is time to peel them (even after refrigeration), also peel them under running COLD water---the trick is to crack it enough to remove the membrane beneath the shell,cleanly. The eggs come out smooth and perfectly ovoid.

Posted By: crussell96Add a little water but not so much that it touches the eggs.

how do you keep the pot from burning?

I know someone who, instead of boiling eggs would put a pin hole in each end of an uncoiled egg and " blow" the contents out of the egg and dye them instead.

Posted By: SlyFoxy1I know someone who, instead of boiling eggs would put a pin hole in each end of an uncoiled egg and " blow" the contents out of the egg and dye them instead.

We did that a few times when we were growing up. It takes a lot of wind...

Perhaps this could be of some help...How to make Perfectly Boiled Eggs from LifeHacker. LifeHacker has some really good tips on just about everything. It's definitely one of my favorite sites.

Posted By: marylagoWe did that a few times when we were growing up. It takes a lot of wind...

Makes it really difficult to make deviled eggs or egg salad, too. :wink:

Posted By: kthnryOr you could just buy the already boiled and shelled eggs at the grocery store. Very handy.

Those always skeeve me out. The shell is what keeps bacteria out. Barf city!

My sister rolls her eggs on the counter after they are cold cracking the shells, I tried and they do seem to deshell easier.

Sell by date is just a guide. And it's sell by, not use by, so a week after should be fine. I'm not dead yet.

Really, it's not that hard. Let your eggs warm to room temperature. Boil water. Gently place eggs in boiling water using a spoon. Boil for 10 minutes for hard boiled eggs. About 8 minutes in, take a larger bowl and fill half way with ice. Fill the ice bowl about half-way with cold water. Take eggs from boiling water and place directly into ice bowl. Let them cool completely (you can even stick them in the fridge). Peel when they are cold (the rolling on the counter is very helpful).

Posted By: pdgWhen the timer goes off, drain the hot water from the pot. leaving the eggs in the pot, and then gently cover the eggs with ice. Then fill the pot with cold water.

This I never do. I always use a separate pot or bowl. You can damage the pot by going from one extreme temperature to another.