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  1. #1
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    Default Mastering the humble boiled egg....and peeling them

    We consume quite a few boiled eggs here. Either with Cholula Chilli sauce after dinner (instead of cheese), or for lunch sliced on toast spread with Coriander Pesto.

    As for the cooking, we seem to have that nailed: raw eggs into cold water, bring to boil which takes 8-9 minutes (on our gas stove anyway) and boil for 3-5 minutes depending on how hard we want them. No vinegar in the boiling water, no pricking, and we never have cracked ones using this technique. Then quench them in cold water (two changes).

    It's the peeling that is the PITA!

    What I have learnt so far is that they must be cold for the best peel. Warm or even room temp results in a difficult peeling where parts of the white come away. Also worked out that it is best to get under the membrane for the quickest result (pulling shell of the membrane and leaving the membrane on the white doesn't work too well).

    Once I forgot to set the timer and they boiled for at least 10 minutes. These were the very easiest to peel. I presume this was because the whites were absolutely cooked and as hard and firm as they can get.

    But it's still mighty slow and fiddly when you are hungry!

    Anyone got any other tips for peeling?
    Regards, FenceFurniture

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    I have found taking the eggs from boiling water and get them cold as soon as possible makes peeling them very easy. I just put the pot with eggs under the tap and run cold water over the whole lot for a few minutes.
    CHRIS

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    Chilled water out of the fridge even quicker and better
    The person who never made a mistake never made anything

    Cheers
    Ray

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    This is one of life's bigger questions, isn't it? Right up there with "why am I here?", "What is my purpose?" and "where can I park?"

    My method is the same except I boil them for longer (actually about 8-10 minutes) and immediately cool them down. Off the stove, pour hot water out, put pan in sink and add cold water from the tap then throw in a beaker full of ice.

    I keep meaning to experiment with the egg freshness and egg type. I keep my own chooks and when I go away (FIFO worker) nobody really eats them, so I usually have a range between 2-3 weeks old and still-warm-from-the-chicken's-bum sitting in the fridge at any time. The birds are different colours and lay different coloured eggs so it would be relatively easy to see if any of my KFC rejects can produce a superior hard boiler; and what impact the age of the egg has upon it.

    Upon my return home at the end of the month I shall endeavour to experiment and publish my findings.
    Nothing succeeds like a budgie without a beak.

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    The fresher the egg the harder it is to peel. use older eggs if you have them.

    Also agree with all who said cool them down as quickly as possible. I have a bowl of cold water and ice ready to put the eggs straight into and I leave them there for several minutes before peeling them. Crack the shell by tapping them on the bench all round as soon as they are cool enough to handle - not very long - then put them back in the iced water.

    Sometimes it can help if you can get a teaspoon in between the shell and the white and separate the two.
    I got sick of sitting around doing nothing - so I took up meditation.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Parks View Post
    I just put the pot with eggs under the tap and run cold water over the whole lot for a few minutes.
    Yes, perzackly what I do.



    Quote Originally Posted by rwbuild View Post
    Chilled water out of the fridge even quicker and better
    Quicker - yep, get that, but better how Ray? Easier to peel?



    Quote Originally Posted by Chief Tiff View Post
    This is one of life's bigger questions, isn't it?
    Well it is! It's taken until my early 60s to get this far!



    Quote Originally Posted by Chief Tiff View Post
    My method is the same except I boil them for longer (actually about 8-10 minutes) and immediately cool them down. Off the stove, pour hot water out, put pan in sink and add cold water from the tap then throw in a beaker full of ice.
    Yes I think the extra boil time might make it easier (will test), but perhaps you think that the extra coldness helps with peeling?



    Quote Originally Posted by Chief Tiff View Post
    I keep meaning to experiment with the egg freshness and egg type. I keep my own chooks and when I go away (FIFO worker) nobody really eats them
    I wouldn't think that age would affect the shell much (just calcium after all), but it may affect the membrane, and I think the membrane is everything to do with ease of peeling. I'm glad they don't eat your chooks while you're away.



    Quote Originally Posted by Chief Tiff View Post
    Upon my return home at the end of the month I shall endeavour to experiment and publish my findings.
    Goodo, look forward to it.
    Regards, FenceFurniture

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    Quote Originally Posted by doug3030 View Post
    The fresher the egg the harder it is to peel. use older eggs if you have them.

    Also agree with all who said cool them down as quickly as possible. I have a bowl of cold water and ice ready to put the eggs straight into and I leave them there for several minutes before peeling them. Crack the shell by tapping them on the bench all round as soon as they are cool enough to handle - not very long - then put them back in the iced water.

    Sometimes it can help if you can get a teaspoon in between the shell and the white and separate the two.
    A man who knows his eggs!

    So Doug, you're saying that letting the cold water leach in under the shell helps? Does that include breaking the membrane so the water gets under that as well? (because that would make quite a lot of sense)
    Regards, FenceFurniture

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    I think the biggest question is who was the first person to decide that the next thing that comes out of that chickens backside I am going to eat???? [emoji23]

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    Brett,
    If this question is arising at this stage of your life.
    I would consider that this is a time to consider STAFF.
    Just my two boiled eggs worth.

    No I don’t think I ever have staff[emoji849]

    Cheers Matt,

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    Ok, just chatting to Lola, next to me and she has a friend who swears by egg piercers, however I don't need one to stop the shells cracking during boiling, but she also says it makes them easier to peel. (because again it would let water seep in under the shell)

    Now I reckon I can make an egg piercer easy peasy. Gouge out a piece of timber, put a small nail or sharp screw through it so it's above the timber by about 1.5-2mm. The idea will be to pierce the air bubble which sits between the shell and membrane at the big end of town.
    Regards, FenceFurniture

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    Quote Originally Posted by FenceFurniture View Post
    I wouldn't think that age would affect the shell much (just calcium after all), but it may affect the membrane, and I think the membrane is everything to do with ease of peeling.
    All eggs have a small pocket of air which is in the big end. As the egg gets older this air pocket gets bigger. At the same time the bond between the membrane and the yolk weakens slightly. This is of course to do with allowing a forming chicken to breathe, but it helps us with peeling boiled eggs in this case.

    Quote Originally Posted by FenceFurniture View Post
    So Doug, you're saying that letting the cold water leach in under the shell helps? Does that include breaking the membrane so the water gets under that as well? (because that would make quite a lot of sense)
    I don't go out of my way to break the membrane when I initially crack the shell and return the egg to the iced water. I do not know if that would help or not, but I think any advantage there would be minimal and the effort of doing so might outweigh any advantage gained therefrom. However I have found that if you start the shelling by removing the shell from over the air pocket in the big end usually gives you a large area of shellthat comes away the easiest and allows you to get the rest of the shell off easier with or without a teaspoon

    Quote Originally Posted by FenceFurniture View Post
    A man who knows his eggs!
    I used to breed exhibition poultry
    I got sick of sitting around doing nothing - so I took up meditation.

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    Yes, chilled water does make it easier to peel them
    The person who never made a mistake never made anything

    Cheers
    Ray

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    We just cool em with cold water and then a tap on the edge of the sink to crack the shell at the pointy end and peel from that end. Comes off in in big pieces mostly
    If you find you have dug yourself a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging.
    I just finished child-proofing our house - but they still get inside.

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    Just remembered seeing one of those stupid "life hacks that will change your life ..... FOREVER!!!!!!" things a while ago on You-tube; basically put the egg in a jar mostly filled with water and give it a bit of a savage shaking up and down, hey presto the egg basically peels itself.
    As an added bonus; your life is changed.
    Forever.

    Regarding the sudden cooling; I was always taught that this was to actually to reduce the layer of grey sulphur-ish compounds that form between the yolk and the white. I did notice over the years though that if you left the eggs to cool naturally and they were burgers to peel it was declared to be entirely your stupid fault for not cooling them down quickly.
    Nothing succeeds like a budgie without a beak.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Chief Tiff View Post
    Regarding the sudden cooling; I was always taught that this was to actually to reduce the layer of grey sulphur-ish compounds that form between the yolk and the white. I did notice over the years though that if you left the eggs to cool naturally and they were burgers to peel it was declared to be entirely your stupid fault for not cooling them down quickly.
    The layer of "sulphur-ish compounds" does indeed come as a result of over-cooking. Therefore, cooling the egg will stop the cooking process, which would otherwise continue while the egg is still warm, and thus may occasionally stop this layer from being formed. But if the egg is already overcooked to the extent that this layer has formed then the ice bath will not remove it.
    I got sick of sitting around doing nothing - so I took up meditation.

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