What makes boiled eggs hard to peel

Maybe I needed to use more than just a sprinkle of baking soda? Pricking holes in the egg was a pain, and the egg had a faint soapy taste. Gently rolling the cooked egg on a cutting board or another hard surface with the palm of your hand makes lots of cracks in the shell, which supposedly helps detach the membrane from the egg white. So after dropping the egg into boiling water and chilling it in an ice bath, I gave this a try instead of my usual one big crack.

The verdict : Even though the boiling-and-cooling method worked on its own, the initial peel would sometimes still be a little tough. Rolling the egg first made the process even easier. A few years back, this egg-peeling hack went viral. In the video , a guy puts an egg in a glass, adds a little bit of water, covers the opening of the glass with his hand, and then shakes vigorously for 20 seconds.

The combination of the water and the shaking seems to cause the shell to detach from the membrane in one giant piece. Amazing, right? The verdict : I tried this in place of gentle rolling, even though I was sort of afraid that the glass might break in my hand.

Eggs, especially the whites, are packed with protein. When those proteins are exposed to heat — like when an egg is being cooked — the proteins coagulate, or turn from liquid to solid, Davies says. Coagulation is a good thing, because it means you get to eat a solid egg instead of a gross, goopy mess.

But the process also makes boiled eggs difficult to peel. And you end up with a torn, pockmarked egg. Otherwise, you'll have to watch closely to observe the exact moment the water comes to a boil. The biggest risk with adding eggs to boiling water is that they'll crack and end up deflated and lopsided.

To minimize that risk, scoot them in gingerly, using a spoon, then maintain a gentle simmer rather than a vigorous bubble so that they don't knock around in the pot. Unless you halt their cooking, that timer was for naught. This keeps the pesky shells—which should slip off fairly easily—contained. Sulfur from amino acids in the white of your egg or albumen is reacting with iron from the yolk which causes a film of ferrous sulphide to form on the yolk's surface.

If the film is thin, your egg will still taste fine. Heat speeds up this reaction, so the longer your eggs cook, the greater the chance of discoloration. That's why it is best when cooking hard boiled eggs to turn off the flame when the water boils and let the egg sit for 17 minutes in the hot water bath with the lid on.

Then plunge the egg into cold water. As an egg ages it gets lighter by evaporation of water through the porous shell, causing the growth of the air space. A fresh egg is heavy and should feel well filled. Hence the old water test for freshness, a fresh egg sinks and an old egg floats. When broken, the white of a fresh egg should be compact round the yellow.

It spreads out, as it gets older. Holding it up to the light can also test the freshness of an egg. A very small air chamber indicates a very fresh egg. Typically eggs reach the shops within days of being laid. Eggs should be used within 1 month and kept under the conditions described. Note : In normal, "non" salted water, an egg that lays on the bottom is fresh.

An egg that stands on end is still useable. And egg that floats is rotten. When eggs age there is an increase in yolk size, thinning of the egg white, weakening of vitellenin membrane and deterioration of odor and flavor. The deterioration depends upon the storage conditions. Eggs Safety. Buying and Storing Eggs. Why are some eggs hard to peel?

Why do some eggs crack when boiled? PS: Jules, I just love your recipes. Think my favourite to date is the red lentil and preserved lemon soup. It is so, so good! I get so many compliments… which of course I duly attribute to your recipe! I would have rolled over the floor laughing on this had I just not seen the same thing in the video at.

I had trouble with peeling eggs and finally found an appliance that takes all the guess work on the time to cook, the water to pour, the temperature to control etc. I liked it so much that I created a website on it called peeleggs.

The trick to boiling an egg that is easy to peel is to bring a pot of water to boil before adding the eggs. Gently place the eggs into the boiling water with a large spoon. Bring the water back to a boil. As soon as the water begins to boil again, turn the burner off, cover the eggs with a lid and let them sit for min.

I pour all the water into the sink, then cover the eggs in cold water, letting it soak up the heat, then pour that water out, and cover the eggs again in cold water, making sure the eggs are cool enough to stop warming the water up.

My hypothesis is the rapid cooling causes the egg to shrink within the shell, and somehow making it easier to detach from the membrane. Cup the small end of the egg when blowing to direct all the air into the small hole, and voila! They peel cleanly and effortlessly. Even my 2-year-old can peel them after that.

I learned a trick when I was in highschool culinary class. If you let the eggs cool after boiling them, crack the shells all around. Then, gently but quickly roll the egg around in your hands. This will help separate the membrane, and it will take off nearly the whole shell quickly. My aunty taught me how to peel eggs years ago and it rarely fails — once the egg is cool, roll it under your hand on a hard surface so it crackles all over and then simply peel the shell off.

Works a charm! Hi, I learnt this from my mother in law a few years back. Regardless of how the egg is boiled, having cooled the egg enough to hold, crack egg and insert a teaspoon under the shell to lift lift it away from the egg white. Sometimes the shell comes off in one piece. There is a easier way.

I was surprised that I did not see it on the site. After the eggs are boiled just right out of the pan just crack the eggs and then put them back in cold water. Wait a minute then peel. So easy and quick! I tried a few of the other ways mentioned above. I just bring to a boil, turn it off, put a lid on it.

Sit for 20 mins this is for the yolks to be yellow. Then I drain them tap both ends and then roll them on their sides back and forth. You have this web of cracks that will just peel off almost all at once. I boil my eggs starting with the cold water. When they have boiled, I drain the hot water off of them and fill the pan with very cold water. Crack the eggs and put them back in the pan while still running very cold water over them.

Let sit in cold water just a minute and the shells will slide off nearly. Very seldom do I ever have any trouble and I have done this with farm fresh and store bought eggs both as I was raised on a farm. As for the gentleman that cuts them in half, so did my grandmother and they always had a bit of shell in them! Hope this helps! This is my secret to peeling eggs perfectly every single time, new or old.

Love it! After working on this problem for years Yes cracking eggs is one of my hobbies… I have discovered the best way to peel an eggs regardless of how it is cooked, age etc. Ok, first you tap the egg with a spoon all the way around in the middle of the egg breaking up a strip in the center, but leaving the eggshell completely intact on the ends.

You gently peel the middle part below the membrane which on that small area will come off without damaging the white. Very fast an efficient. I found one day by pure accident that when I put the eggs in a measuring cup that had veg. I poured cold water over the eggs and cracked them under the oily water they peeled beautifully.

My eggs are very fresh because my chickens lay them every morning for me. So peeling was very difficult before I started this. We used to keep chickens for the fresh eggs and another hint I came across besides using older eggs was to take a needle and poke a hole in the end of the large end of the egg before cooking. It usually worked pretty good for me. I was taught, just like a couple others have mentioned, to poke a hole in the rounded end of the egg before setting it into the water.

I use an ice pick. You will see bubbles coming out often — that shows that the water is getting in and lining the inside of the shell. I do set them into boiling water, but not religiously. We then cook 10 minutes. Ours always peel great. I boil them in VERY salty water. The hypertonic solution draws fluid out of the eggs, intensifying the flavor, and drawing the white away from the shell.

Someone about had a similar suggestion but the easiest way actually has to do with your peeling skills:. Tap on both ends. With the egg laying horizontally, using the palm of your hand, press and roll the egg. This will create tiny cracks all over the shell. From the flat end with the air pocket where the sack usually is , remove the peel.

I think Lisa has a great idea—let a little water get under the shell. I have a dozen hard-boiled eggs in the refrigerator, still in their unbroken shells. I put one cold from the refrigerator in a 2-cup hard plastic storage container with about an inch of water. I put the lid on and shook it until the egg was crazed all around. I peeled it without waiting and had only a couple of places where a little bit of white stuck to the shell. I think waiting a minute would have made all the difference.

Especially good for eggs that have been sitting a long while. While the white will change consistency over time, the yolk remains intact. Spinning will move the yolk to the center. I do love deviled eggs! Thanks for the blog. If your not in a hurry… Put eggs in cold water bring to a boil turn off heat and cover for 15 minutes Run luke warm water until you can touch roll on the counter to get the middle to crack peels apart in 2 pieces.

Place eggs in cold water, add salt and olive oil and bring to the boil. Switch off job, pour out hot water and add cold water. Let sit for 15mins and eggs peel easy. Bring you water to a boil and carefully add eggs to water with a slotted spoon or something similar. Boil for 20 minutes. Gently remove eggs from water and place in a bowl filled with ice and cold water to chill completely.

Let sit for another 15 minutes or so then remove, dry and store in your fridge. Putting the eggs in the cold water causes the egg to shrink slight and pull back from the shell making it easy to peel- Works every time. You can literally peel a dozen eggs in about 2 minutes.

I have found the answer. It goes against everything that everyone has told you since childhood up-but it works. Every time. Every egg. Easy peasy as my kids would say. Bring a big pot of water to a full rolling boil, then, with tongs, carefully place your eggs into the water, one by one.

One may make a popping noise and distressing egg-whites might come out a bit-especially if any had hairline cracks. Boil away for 13 minutes. Remove from water. At this point you can do what you wish.

Cold water bath. Cold dry storage. Bring to room temp. Eat hot right away. Any way you want it it will be simple to peel. Or I would be, if there were such a thing :. My dear sister taught me to bring the eggs to room temperature.. After cooking place in ice cold water and peel.

This works even for fresh eggs. My grandma always poured the boiling water out and put cold water over to cool. Then either in your bowl of water or under running cold water peel.