chucky eggs.....

[captainbovine]

why is it sometimes when you've hard boiled an egg you can't get the shell off, as the skin has adhered to the eggy too tightly? am I boiling them for too long????..... I put them in warm water bring them the boil and boil for 7 mins...how do you do yours?

[little-bacchus]

Room temp eggs, pierced at round end, droped in boiling water for seven mins.

Drop in cold water and peel off the shell under the water, works a treat.

[chickengrandma-2008]

I don't know why that is because I've boiled a pan of eggs, all laid on the same day, kept in the same temperature, boiled for the same length of time, all cracked and left to cool in cold water, and some peel easy and some don't!!  ??

[merc1_clocks]

I agree with CG...you can do them all in exactly the same way...but one wee beggar will refuse to shed his shell easily ...here is the formula  

[cookiecookuk]

it usually peels ok if you peel them when they are still hot.

[ilove2patch]

Apparently a little baking soda in the water solves the problem. I have yet to try it though.

[dairyview123]

We was told they are too fresh!

If it is to be made into a sarnie or egg mayo cut the pointed end off with a knife, make sure you get all the bits of shell out! then put a T spoon in and scoop the whole egg out....simples...;)

[peteryola]

Do them slowly - when I do hard boiled, I put them in cold water to start with, bring to the boil for ten minutes then instead of tipping the water out, I place the whole pan under the cold tap and run the water for a gradual cooling down then when all the water is replaced, leave to stand for about 20 - 30 minutes, replacing the water again a couple of times during that time.

This also avoids the blue tinge to the yolk.

[soppysofty]

Make sure the uncooked eggs are at room temperature then put them in a pan of cold water with a pinch of salt making sure the water covers the eggs.

Any eggs that float are bad so remove and throw away.

Bring pan to boil and then put lid on pan and allow to simmer for 6 minutes for a medium size egg or 8 minutes for large eggs.

Remove from heat, leaving lid on and let stand until water (and eggs) are cold.

Tap eggs hard enough for shell to crack on a work surface and then roll the eggs so that all the shell has cracked.

Using the balls of your fingers lift a section of shell and let the shell come away from the egg naturally.

Perfect bolied eggs with no shell every time.

[chickengrandma-2008]

But all these different ways of doing them still doesn't answer the question, why, when all the same age, all the same temperature, all cooked the same and all cooled the same, do some shell easily and some don't. 

[little-bacchus]

Because they don't all come from the same bird.

Eggshell membrane is mainly protein and the thickness of it depends on the diet and conditions the hen is kept in. When you have a shell that is hard to remove most time it is because the inner and outer shell membranes have fused in cooking. Even in the same birds egg the protein can be deposited differently.

[myraandjim]

I think the rule is that if you are in a hurry then the shell sticks, if you have plenty of time then the shell comes off easily - that's how it seems to work for me anyway.

[cookiecookuk]

by peeling them hot i have NEVER  had a shell stuck and hard to peel.

[captainbovine]

love the formula Merc!

I'll try shelling them hot Cookie.

[malacandran]

Do we have to boil the eggs, couldn't we eat them raw?

[captainbovine]

no....

[malacandran]

Could you expand on that, please,  captain - why can't we eat raw eggs?

I used to do that for years - crack open a couple of eggs, into a glass. Pour in some milk, add a dash of salt.  Then whip it up with a fork, and drink it.  A kind of "instant breakfast".  Saves all the faffing about, waiting for the eggs to boil.

And might preserve essential vitamins which would be destroyed by boiling.

I stopped doing it, because of Edwina Curry.  But the method seems basically sound.

[leoleoleo123]

You can eat eggs cooked or raw..

the only way i eat an egg is one that comes made with other ingredients, into a cake or other recipe.. the most 'eggy' thing i eat is quiche.

[cookiecookuk]

you can eae them raw but would nod advise it if you are pregnant ill or old .there is a dish i think called steak tartare which is raw minced steak moulded into like a volcano with a raw egg cracked in the top  also mayo is made with raw egg .

[captainbovine]

well the thing is you can eat them how you like, raw or whatever. I was talking about boiling eggs. I could never eat a raw egg but that's me.