Hardboiled Eggs - Shells Stick :-(

[JuJuJasmine]

What a mess!? Long story short - I can't get the shells off!!!
What do I do?
Any suggestions at all will be tried - heck, If I can get the shells off, they're no good anyway.

THANKS!

JuJu

 

[sharoncity]

Is it just a bunch of small pieces? Run them under cold water. My DS likes to help peel them, but always makes a mess. Put them under cold tap water and voila!

 

[septbride2002]

The next time you boil the eggs add salt (about a tsp) to the water - works every time. For the current batch run under cold water while peeling.

~Amanda

 

[ibouncetoo]

Also, as soon as you take a batch off the stove run them under cold water....yep, go straight from boiling water to cold. I usually let them sit in the cold water for a few mins also before I put them in the fridge.

 

[JCJRSmith]

One more thing to add here, along with the other fine suggestions: The fresher your eggs are, the harder they will be to peel when they are hard boiled. Give 'em a week in the 'fridge, and then boil 'em.

 

[JuJuJasmine]

Well, i tried the running cold water and i still have shells that simply will NOT release. While I did not use salt in the water, I did submerge them in cold water for quite awhile after cooking and before sticking them back into the fridge.

Maybe they were too fresh? I bought them at Costco, they do turn items fast there.

Any other suggestions? Maybe I should put them back into boiling water, if only for a minute, then resubmerge them in the cold water?

The best way I can describe what is happening is that the membrane between the egg shell and the egg just won't let go, no matter how hard i try. So i'm either pulling off shell in miniscule sized pieces, or chunks with 1/4" of egg still attached.



Ju

 

[antmaril]

I can't help you this time, but next time you might try bringing the eggs to a boil and then turning the stove off. Leave them on the stove for 25 minutes or so. I then rinse them in cold water and they peel perfectly.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[JuJuJasmine]

I'm a "cold water method" hard boiled egg cooker myself.
This time something just went terribly wrong.
Can't fingure it out, eggs-actly.

Ju

 

[WebmasterKathy]

It's amazing all the information you can find on the web.

Here's a bit that illuminates some of the science behind the "cold water" school of thought:

From Learn2.com, in their tutorial on hard-boiling eggs:

Immediately soak the eggs in cold water. This will stop the eggs from cooking by their own heat, and will also help with peeling them. Keep them in the cold water for 30 seconds or so, or until you can handle them without shouting "Ow, ow, ouch!!" and passing them hurriedly from hand to hand. While they're in the cold water, a layer of steam develops between the shell and the egg white. The steam makes peeling an egg much easier.

Additional comments from The Joy of Cooking:

Much discussion swirls around the best way to peel a hard-boiled egg. Very fresh eggs (less than 3 days old) are the most difficult to peel. The older an egg, the larger the air cell, and the neater it peels. Thoroughly chilling hard-boiled eggs before peeling helps by firming the white. Holding an egg under a stream of water as you peel removes any bits of broken shell.

Some cooks advocate a two-step method that involves plunging the cooked egg into ice water for two minutes, then reboiling it for exactly 30 seconds and peeling it immediately.

The Joy of Cooking also comments that eggs should not actually be boiled; they should be put in simmering water and cooked gently. Higher heat overcooks the proteins, leaving the egg white tough and rubbery. Overcooking may also cause a greenish black rim to form between the yolk and the white. This is harmless but yucky when it comes to gourmet cooking.

We looked in several cookbooks, all of which said that when you take the eggs off the heat, you plunge them immediately in cold water to halt the cooking, as well as to help with the peeling.

 

[JuJuJasmine]

an egg can be too fresh.
go figure.
ju

 

[WebmasterKathy]

Originally posted by JuJuJasmine
an egg can be too fresh.
go figure.
ju

I'm thinking that this probably isn't an issue for most of us. Unless you live on a farm, I'm guessing that ALL your eggs are more than 3 days old!

 

[mum4jenn]

Something that helps me is that after I sit them in cold water,I go ahead and crqack them and then let them sit for awhile before peeling them. Seems to help get somw water in between the egg and the membrane and should help the shell slpi right off. The key is to get the membrane along with the shell off the egg and not just the shell off the membrane.

 

[KimRaye]

Next time, definately use older eggs and, I use salt AND the cold water right after! Using ALL those tips have made my hard boiled eggs "to die for". LOL

 

[SnackyStacky]

What I usually do is crack them, and then roll them on a hard surface, with some pressure from my palm. (Sort of as if the egg were a rolling pin with no handles) Then run underwater while peeling, and the shell just slides right off.

 

[lmhall2000]

I have a system with eggs- and it flies along with what most everyone is saying.... here's how I do it....

I put the eggs in water...once it reaches a boil I set the timer for 12 minutes....I immediately pour cold water into the pot just to get the water manageable to touch. This cools it down and causes the inside of the egg to do that sweating stuff which clears the membrane from sticking to the egg. The trick for me is to have warm-hot water running in the faucet- I crack the egg all over by hitting it against the side of the pan on all sides then I hold it under the faucet while I get a grip of one end where an air pocket has formed and make sure I have the membrane on the shell side- then the warm water helps slide the shell off the egg. If my water gets to cool in the pan- then they stick- so I'll put hot water back in as I go. Is this not ridiculous? But it works!

Enjoy those eggs! oh and I put vinegar and mustard powder in my eggs instead of yellow mustard- it really gives it a zing!

Tara

 

[nativetxn]

I did a google search for the "perfect hard boiled egg"

I found this:

Alton Brown, Good Eats
Place pot of cold water onto stovetop. Salt the water to help prevent eggs from cracking. Place desired number of eggs into water. Bring water to a boil, then turn off heat and cover pan. Time for 15 minutes exactly, then place cooked eggs into ice water bath. This helps stop the cooking, keeps whites from getting rubbery.

And this by Julia Child:

*note: water should cover the eggs by 1 inch, so use a tall pan, and limit
cooking to 2 dozen eggs at a time.

1. Lay the eggs in the pan and add the amount of cold water specified. Set
over high heat and bring just to the boil; remove from heat, cover the pan,
and let sit exactly 17 minutes.

2. When the time is up, transfer the eggs to the bowl of ice cubes and
water. Chill for 2 minutes while bringing the cooking water to the boil
again. (This 2 minute chilling shrinks the body of the egg from the shell.)

3. Transfer the eggs (6 at a time only) to the boiling water, bring to the
boil again, and let boil for 10 seconds - this expands the shell from the
egg. Remove eggs, and place back into the ice water.


Chilling the eggs promptly after each step prevents that dark line from
forming, and if time allows, leave the eggs in the ice water after the last
step for 15 to 20 minutes. Chilled eggs are easier to peel, as well.

The peeled eggs will keep perfectly in the refrigerator, submerged in water
in an uncovered container, for 2 to 3 days.

 

[John VN]

Ok, I'm no Julia but I'll mention the method that works for me and virtually everytime I peel the egg the shell comes off in 2 big pieces.

Bring salted water to a boil.
**With a PIN pierce the BLUNT end of the egg.**
Lower egg(s) slowly into water that covers egg(s) by 1".
Bring water back to boil, lower to simmer and cook for 11 minutes, I use large EGG-LANDS Best and let them sit out on the counter for awhile to take the chill off from the fridge.
After cooking I slowly lower them into mixing bowl filled with water and ice cubes 2 to 3 minutes.
Since we like our H-B Eggs cold I just place them in a covered container, with a paper towel on the bottom, then into the fridge and go at them later.

This method came from "How Cooking Works" 1981 edition and has SERVED the wife and me well.

john

 

[Robinrs]

http://www.smartinventions.com/Egg.asp