Boiling my eggs

[wvplucker]

When I boil the eggs my girls lay, the shell sticks to the white, and it is a mess. I have boiled them with store bought eggs, and the store bought eggs peeled easily and mine stuck to the white. I have added salt and done all the tricks, but mine do not peel nearly as easy as the store bought. Should I be feeding them something, or does anyone know why this is happening?

 

[stilldeb]

They may be 'too fresh' - let them sit in the frig a few days. Really fresh eggs will do that, which isn't a problem with store-bought eggs.

deb g

KY

 

[wenlo]

It's happening because your eggs are so fresh and store bought eggs, well, are usually old. Old eggs are better for hard-boiling because the membranes have separated.

 

[trunkman]

I had the same problem with my fresh eggs and I also tried everything and only one thing worked for me. What I do and this works great by the way is I just simply leave my eggs on the counter for a few days. When I use eggs directly from the fridge I always have a hard time peeling them, when I use eggs that are left at room temperature for a few days they peel very easily. Let me know if it works for you.

 

[wenlo]

I found this on e how - supposed to work for fresh eggs, let us know!

1. The last steps are the most important ones to follow to get your eggs just right for peeling so the cooking method isn't as important. The following steps show the method which has worked best for me.
2. Put your eggs in a pot and cover with tap water then put a lid on the pot. Bring the eggs to a boil.
3. Once you have a roiling boil, boil for 2-3 minutes then turn off the heat. Let pot remain on stove.
4. About an hour or so later dump out the hot water and add cold tap water to cover the eggs.
5. Wait about another hour and dump out the warm water and fill again with cold water. Put the pot of water and eggs in the refrigerator.
6. If you have the time, let the pot cool in the refrigerator overnight. The eggs will be perfect for peeling now. The egg inside has shrunk slightly in its shell from the cool temperature of the refrigerator, but the shell has remained the same size which allows for easy peeling.
7. To peel, crack the egg on both ends then roll the middle of the egg on a flat surface several times. The majority of the shell should be cracked into small pieces now.
8. Finding an opening in the shell and start peeling, the shell should almost fall off the egg!

 

[wvplucker]

Hey wenlo don't forget the Steelers, tomorrow night. Thanks to everyone so far. I never thought I would be burdened with food that was too fresh. That is a good problem to have.

 

[wenlo]

Go Steelers! Yes, fresh eggs - a burden I will happily bear.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Aging them for three weeks is what I have always heard is good. In the fridge before you boil.

 

[artsyrobin]

i discovered recently, have them at room temp, bring water to a boil, cook 15 minutes, run under coldwater, crack each one a little and let the water seem in then peel them- came out very easy

 

[LizaBlue]

I watch a lot of Food network, and they always say not to use fresh eggs for boiling - something about as the egg ages it loses its water and the air bubble grows? But instead of a few days, I think they said 5-7 days.

This link most resembles how I do my eggs and I rarely have troubles with sticky shells or green yolks:

http://www.wikihow.com/Boil-Eggs

I usually just dump out the boiling water, cover the eggs with crushed ice (since my fridge makes it) and cubes and leave them be til mostly melted. When peeling, I put down a tea towel, gently crack the fat end and slowly roll the egg around until it has little cracks all over, then I finish peeling under water - letting water get between shell and egg helps.

BTW, when I worked at Kohl's, I was able to get one of those "as seen on tv" egg peelers - you know, the kind that looks like a manual air pump?- for $0.50. I couldn't resist trying it, just for laughs. My dh and I had a blast shooting eggs all around the kitchen with that thing!

It actually worked about 1 out of every 3-4 tries, but it was always fun! Oh, I wish I could give you a visual on that one...whooosh--plop-splat!