dianet@iddic.UUCP (Diane Tierney) (04/10/85)
Well, folks Easter is over and, being a good Mom, I boiled eggs for the kids to color. A few of these eggs were extremely hard to 'peel'. The shell stuck to the egg and was almost impossible to get off without destroying the white part ( not very pretty for Deviled Eggs ). I have heard 2 reasons for this: 1) Eggs too fresh 2) Eggs cooked too long My question is this...Is there any *EASY* way to get that stupid shell off if this should happen again? Thanks in advance. Diane Tierney :-)
eac@drutx.UUCP (CveticEA) (04/11/85)
>A few of these eggs were extremely hard to 'peel'. The shell stuck to the egg >and was almost impossible to get off without destroying the white part ( not >very pretty for Deviled Eggs ). > >I have heard 2 reasons for this: >1) Eggs too fresh >2) Eggs cooked too long I thought this would happen if the eggs weren't cooked long enough. There seems to be a point between the shell sticking and green setting in that is about 15 seconds long. Sometimes a settle for green. >My question is this...Is there any *EASY* way to get that stupid shell off >if this should happen again? If it happens, the only thing that helps a very small amount is to crack the egg all over, roll it gently between your hands, and attempt to peel it under running water. Betsy Cvetic ihnp4!drutx!eac
slb@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden) (04/11/85)
Eggs can indeed be hard to peel if they are too fresh. We
brought eggs from a farmer for a while, and I always had to let
them sit in the fridge for a week or so before hard-boiling them.
I find no trouble with store-bought eggs (which says something
about their freshness.)
If the eggs are not too fresh, I NEVER have trouble with peeling
them if they are cooked as follows: Put the eggs in cold water,
and put on the stove, covered. Bring to a boil. Reduce the
heat as far as possible--they should not really boil. Time for
eighteen minutes. (This time is for Denver--those of you who are
sea-level dwellers may be able to reduce it slightly.) Immediately
run cold water over them and keep it running for 10 minutes or
so to completely cool them fast. That last step is important for
peelability, I have found.
--
Sue Brezden
Real World: Room 1B17 Net World: ihnp4!drutx!slb
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Westminster, Co. 80234
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~kolling@decwrl.UUCP (Karen Kolling) (04/12/85)
Sometime within the last year or two, there was an article in American Scientist that could have been titled Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About The Chemistry of Hardboiled Eggs, including how to prevent that green layer (don't overcook, and cool very quickly -- it's sulphur-something-or-other separating out). I'm too lazy to go dig out the exact reference to the article.
larryk@tektronix.UUCP (Larry Kohn) (04/12/85)
In article <2463@drutx.UUCP> slb@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden) writes: > >If the eggs are not too fresh, I NEVER have trouble with peeling >them if they are cooked as follows: Put the eggs in cold water, >and put on the stove, covered. Bring to a boil. Reduce the >heat as far as possible--they should not really boil. Time for >eighteen minutes. This gets the same results and you can save some energy too. After it comes to a boil, remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for twenty minutes.
ark@alice.UUCP (Andrew Koenig) (04/13/85)
There's a neat gadget that lets you get your eggs exactly right. I forget the brand name, but it's a plastic gadget about the shape of half an egg on a base that you put in the water with your eggs. As it warms, it changes color. Because the plastic is transparent, you can see the change working its way in from the edges. When it reaches the center, you have a hard-boiled egg. If you take it out earlier, you have a soft-boiled egg.
elb@hou5e.UUCP (Ellen Bart) (04/16/85)
Do people out there really cook the eggs for 18 minutes after they boil ?? Whenever I leave them for > 8-9 minutes the yolks get really hard and not nearly as tastey and fluffy as when I remember to take them off after about 6-7. I rinse them immediately in cold water and never have peeling trouble. ellen bart p.s. don't forget a drop of salt in the water so that any cracks in the eggs won't leak all over the pan.
eac@drutx.UUCP (CveticEA) (04/17/85)
Yes, we really cook eggs for 15-18 minutes after the water boils. This has a lot to do with the fact that in Denver, water boils at 200 degrees and things take a lot longer to cook. If I boiled an egg for 8 minutes here, the yolk would be very soft, though not runny. Similarly, for soft cooked eggs, 3 minutes usually leaves part of the white runny. The size of your egg makes a small difference as well. (I always use extra-large or jumbo eggs) Hard cooked eggs with a firmer yolk slice a whole lot better too. Betsy Cvetic ihnp4!drutx!eac
figmo@tymix.UUCP (Lynn Gold) (04/18/85)
> My question is this...Is there any *EASY* way to get that stupid shell off > if this should happen again? > > Thanks in advance. Diane Tierney :-) Try GENTLY rolling/crushing the egg on a flat surface. The shell should crack into many tiny pieces, but the "skin" underneath will hold them together. Then look for a good crack and GENTLY pull off the shell. I've used this method all my life and never broken a hard-boiled egg this way. --Lynn ...tymix!figmo
podar@sbcs.UUCP (Sunil Podar) (04/24/85)
.....thought I'll add my bit, although I rarely boil eggs, but you
are welcome to experiment. I recall someone(perhaps mom), somewhere
mentioning that if you add a bit (don't ask me how much) of salt to
the water while boiling eggs, it is easier to break the shell;
apparantly some kind of chemical reaction makes the shell even more
brittle, I guess, ................
--
yours truly, dont like'em 'cause they leave a yuckkky after-smell just like
garlic & the rest,
Sunil Podar
SUNY at Stony Brook
CSNET: podar@sbcs.csnet
ARPA: podar%suny-sb.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa
UUCP: {allegra, hocsd, philabs, ogcvax} !sbcs!podar