OK I just have to share a tip I learned on the internet for making hard boiled eggs out of freshly laid eggs. I have tried all kinds of different methods. Salt in the water, Eggies (they really are horrible to clean), starting with cold water, putting the eggs in already boiling water and even tried the baking method. All of those produced the same result of losing a lot of the white when peeling the eggs. I just tried this new method on 18 eggs that were laid over this past week. Before putting the eggs in the water, take a tack or some other tool that will make a small hole (I used a small skewer that people use for baking turkeys) and pierce the large end of the egg just enough to get through the shell but trying not to break the membrane (if you break the membrane, no big deal you will just loose a little of the whites while the egg is cooking). Get the water boiling first (this keeps the yolk from getting that greenish tinge) and then slowly lower the eggs into the boiling water. You will see air bubbles escaping from the hole that you made in the egg. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes (depending on how hard boiled you want them). Right after they finish cooking put the eggs in an ice water bath for 15 minutes. You can crack them up a little before you put them in the cold water if you like. After chilling them, I like to crack the shells up a bunch to make it easier to peel them. It was sooooooooo much easier to get under the membrane and peel those eggs. I didn't loose a bit of the whites when I was peeling them.
