Homegrown versus commercial hard boiled eggs and shelling

[Jajika]

My husband made an observation that I don't have the answer to:

He noticed that it is easier to shell a commercially purchased hard boiled egg than eggs from
our own chickens.

You know that membrane that is between the shell and the egg? He says there is barely
a membrane on our chickens eggs, but that the membrane from the commercially hatched is much
thicker.

Normally we never buy eggs, but we did recently for an event where we were not about to give
up our wonderful eggs for "egg soup" extravaganza.

Any thoughts, observations?

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

I find it is easier to shell eggs that are several weeks old -- regardless of whether they are store bought or home grown.


As a result, I purposefully hold some eggs back and allow them to age several weeks in the fridge. When it comes time to boil eggs, I always make sure to use the older eggs for that purpose.


The reason it might seem that storebought eggs are easier to shell is that store bought eggs are always several weeks old before you get a chance to buy them, while farm fresh eggs might be boiled within hours of when the hen laid it.


Just put a few of those fresh eggs away in the fridge for a few weeks, with the ultimate goal of boiling them, and you will find they will peel as well as the storebought eggs.

 

[Erica]

Yep, they're too fresh. Really fresh eggs have a very weak layer of white that sticks to the shell.
You can either age them, or boil them for much longer (about 8-10 minutes). That will harden the white and allow peeling.

 

[kingsfarm]

when egg is hard to peel...crack by tapping eggs on hard surface (all over) slip spoon under membrane and slide shell off....works for me....G

 

[Jajika]

Aha! So this makes sense. Older eggs. I had a suspicion this might be the case, but you folks have confirmed it.

With all the differences between my fabulously fresh and flavorful eggs, orange yolks, firm whites and adorable chickens, it
makes sense that the freshness would make that difference.

Just another reason why I love my chickens.

Geri

 

[Judy]

This gets discussed frequently on here. Older eggs peel more easily, but you can also peel fresh ones easily with any of several tricks. From the FAQ page:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=24428

 

[CountryRoosterUSA]

Not much sense to have fresh eggs if you have to let them age before you can have fresh hard boiled eggs.
I always let my eggs stand till they are room temp. Then boil 12 to 15 min. Then put them in cold water to let them cool.
This works fine for me, shell comes right off.
I've tried several differant ways ,but this way seems to work.
I guess its getting them to room temp. before boiling, altho I don't know what differance it makes.But it works.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Funny thing is I was just researching this a few minutes ago. Easter is upon us and I need to bring green deviled eggs for the ham. The trick there is to use wasabi.

Salt raises the temp of water so can result in over cooked rubbery whites. Vinegar softens the shell, works to porous the shell allowing more water in. Those that push pin a hole in large end are doing manually what 1/3 cup vinegar in the water does.

We always cold shock the cooked eggs and it wasn't enough with fresh eggs. Last years Easter served beaten and tortured devil's eggs. Going to pull the eggs out of fridge Saturday and use the vinegar trick this Easter Sunday.

 

[anappier]

This works for me. First bring water to a full boil. Lower eggs in to boiling water with a slotted spoon. Cover and lower heat to med/low. Cook 20 min, pour off hot water and fill pot with tap water. Peel at once. I can do just layed eggs with know trouble at all, the shells slip right off. We also do Jap. bantam eggs for mini deviled eggs but lower the time to 16 min. I hope this works for you. Robert

 

[Cindy in PA]

I have been putting a splash of vinegar & salt in the water when I boil them. So far even eggs that are a few days old peel like a dream. I have tried many other tips before and this is the only one that has worked every time so far!