Appealing Eggs

I was told that old eggs are the problem and that is why you can't peel them without mutilating the whites. I start with cold eggs in cold water, bring to a boil uncovered and remove from heat and add lid for 9 minutes (perfect inside). Drain rinse in cold water for five minutes and put in fridge. When ready to peel the shell will not separate from the whites as they did years ago. The membrane is like leather. Are the eggs inferior today or am I doing this wrong. Frustrated that two cracks and a pull used to de-shell the egg, but no longer. I've even cut the egg is half and scooped it out with a spoon but that presentation sucks unless you're making egg salad.

Thanks,

Rory

I understand your frustration. It is tough when most of the white stays in the shell and I'm left with a deformed egg to make-do with.

I received 3 messages on boiling eggs in one week. Two of them were responses to the following post that appeared in a past issue of our HomeCook'n newsletter. They both said this is the best method and worked for them. You'll find the post below. I hope her advice will work for you.

I'm not sure if eggs today are different than they used to be. It would be interesting to research out the changing methods in poultry farming, transportation, and so forth that may affect the eggs we eat today.

Good luck,

Desiri Wightman - DVO

Dear friends:

If you want perfectly peelable eggs firstly, it's MOST important that after the hard-boiled eggs have finished boiling, that they be immediately rinsed in and then left to soak in very, VERY cold water -- the colder the better, icy is best. That's why I usually put a half dozen or so ice cubes in the water with the eggs. This insures that the shell will separate from the albumen (the thin film that separates the shell from the egg) allowing us to peel the egg.

THEN, I find that the best way to peel a hard-boiled egg is to tap both ends on a hard surface, breaking the shell on both ends and then laying the egg on its side on the hard surface, simply and quickly rolling it gently but firmly against the hard surface which causes many, many tiny and larger cracks to form through the shell and then it's ready for easy peeling.

As an added extra... I find the wisest way to hard-boil eggs is to put all the raw whole eggs (as many eggs as you like as the number of eggs you will be boiling has nothing to do with this cooking method) into a pot that has a tightly, snugly fitting cover of its own -- then cover all the eggs, filling the pot, with cool or lukewarm tap water until there is more than one-inch of water covering the egg that is on top of all the eggs in the pot. Then, on a high-flame, bring the water to a full, rolling boil... the very minute the eggs reach that full, rolling boil, remove the pot from the stovetop to a nearby waiting trivet and IMMEDIATELY put the cover on the pot completely covering the pot TIGHTLY and allow the eggs to continue to cook in the hot water (right on your tabletop, yes, without any flame underneath it) still in the pot for EIGHTEEN minutes. After the 18 minutes, remove the cover and bring the pot to your kitchen sink, gently and carefully pour out the still very very hot water and refill the pot with the coldest water you can get your tap to produce. Let the eggs just sit in the very cold water for a minute or two and then refill the pot again with more of the coldest water you've got. And you will have perfectly hard boiled eggs (which will also be remarkably easy to peel -- THAT is the secret to easy egg-peeling, immediately rinsing the cooked eggs with the very coldest water you can). I got this egg-boiling method from the old Betty Crocker cookbook and I was happily amazed to realize that it really works -- PERFECT hard-boiled eggs EVERY single time -- and NEVER any soft uncooked spots inside the eggs either. It's just great.

Sincerely,

Miss Freya Friedman

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