What is the secret to peeling hard boiled eggs and not destroying them?!


Question: It seems inpossible lately to peel a descent looking hard boiled egg because the sking doesn't come off? Does any one have any secrets they would like to share?


Answers: It seems inpossible lately to peel a descent looking hard boiled egg because the sking doesn't come off? Does any one have any secrets they would like to share?

Ah, the secret.

The secret, dear lady, is not in PEELING the eggs; the secret is in COOKING them. And it doesn't matter if you use fresh or older eggs, but, to be honest, most people use older eggs for boiling because - let's face it - why waste the fresh eggs for boiling when you can use them for frying, etc.?

But after they are finished boiling, IMMEDIATELY cool them by submerging them in ice water. I fill my sink ahead of time with ice water and do just that. After about five minutes of this, I put the eggs and some of the ice water back into the pot (usually I have to add fresh ice, because the heat from the eggs has melted what was in there) and put the pan of eggs into the refrigerator for at least twelve hours.

The twelve hours is my personal thing; I imagine that just submerging them in ice water is enough, but I never have trouble peeling them.

What happens, though, is that if you immediately cool them, the shells then pull away from the eggs, and the membrane that causes the difficult peeling in the first place will not have time to form.

P.S. Save me some of whatever it is you're making with the eggs, please.

I swear this question is on here every day. If you can't peel your egg, it was too fresh. Use older eggs.

Do not use fresh eggs!! for good hardboiled eggs, buy 2 weeks in advance of when you are going to cook them.

I put them on in COLD salt water and bring up the heat slowly so they don't crack. Simmer for 7 minutes, douse them in ice water and crack allowing them to sit in the cold water for about 15 minutes, then peel. Crack around the middle and the ends should slip off.

peel them in water. i know just try this very good results.

The fresher the egg, the harder it is to peel. If you want to make deviled eggs you want the eggs to be at least a week or two old.

Whenever I peel eggs, I tap the rounder end on the counter to break open the shell and then hold the opening under running
water as I peel it. The water pressure separates the egg from the shell. Works great.

I've always just cracked it all the way around and all over, then almost rub the shell off. It seems to work pretty good for us.

Of course, that is when we're making the eggs look pretty. It doesn't matter for egg salad. :-)

For one thing, they should be peeled as soon as possible after cooking. Immerse them in cold water, first thing. Also, when you break them, start with the fatter end of the egg, where there is a little air pocket. If any of the shell sticks while you are peeling, run cold water over the egg and into the difficult place. Another good thing to know is that fresher eggs are harder to peel. Buy them a few days or more before you need them.

Fresh eggs seem to peel better for me but I have also found that if you let the boiled eggs cool before peeling they peel better. Add some salt to the water while boiling and be sure to cook them for a least 10 minutes. Good Luck!!

you kinda have to do it when there still hot/warm, so you can handle them. If you wait till there totally cooled or cold, it's a real ******.

put them in cold water for a while tap it gently
roll lightly on the table

put eggs into boiling water and a pinch of salt. When cooked. hit egg lightly against basin till shell of egg all cracked. peel shell of egg and you'l have perfect hard boil egg. Give it a try!

There are 2 "secrets" to making hard boiled eggs easy to peel.
1.) Don't use real fresh eggs. Make sure that you are using eggs that are several days old. The membrane beneath the shell sticks tightly to the shell when they're fresh, making peeling the egg almost impossible. After a few days in the refrigerator the membrane starts to pull away from the shell.
2.) Plunge the eggs in ice water immediately after they're done cooking, and leave then there a few minutes to cool.

After you cook it, tap the egg once and put it in cold water for a min, which helps water goes between egg and shell. Then Crack the egg by putting the egg over hard area, like table, and roll the egg with your palm (not too hard or not too soft) to make the shell crack into small pieces. Then, peel them off and you will have a perfact egg.

Well, I have many times boiled fresh eggs, and older eggs and do them the same way each time with often good and bad eggs in a batch of hard cooked eggs. Many times fresh eggs peel up with no problem eggs. And so do the older eggs. Then sometimes 2-3 in each batch will give me a problem even held under running water. No matter which end I crack first. Honestly, I think it is the egg itself to begin with and some are just drier inside with a lack of slippery stuff between the white of the egg and the skin.
I always cook my eggs the same way....In a pan of cold water place the eggs touching each other so they don't dance around with each other.(I usually do as close to a dozen as my pan will hold) I never use salt, but I do put in about 1-2 tsp of vinegar. Doesn't matter what kind. Sometimes white and sometimes Apple Cidar Vinegar. When the water is boiling, I turn down the flame to med-low cover the pan and time them for about 10-12 minutes. Turn off the heat and keep covered for about 5-10 minutes. Then place the pan under cold running water to cool. Once in a while I use ice cubes but not that often. When just cool enough to handle and they are still somewhat hot, I crack the shells and place them in the water.
And start peeling. If they cool or I get lazy and let them come to room temp...I use hot tap water and re warm slightly, and this seems to cause them to peel better. (Similar to a condensation factor) I use them usually right away, or they go into a ziplock bag and right into the fridge. My son always wanted cooked eggs for snacks so this worked well over the years. (Funny he has moved out for a while now, and 2 nights ago he called me to ask how to hard cook the eggs.) I guess he never payed attention to what I did...and I forgot to tell him to add the vinegar....I guess they came out ok...he didn't call to complain.
Good Luck....on peeling your eggs....there are many many suggestions......

Use older eggs. Eggs that are too fresh will not peel cleanly. I raised chickens for years, and if I was planning to boil any eggs would have to put some aside for a week or two.





The consumer Foods information on foodaq.com is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions.
The answer content post by the user, if contains the copyright content please contact us, we will immediately remove it.
Copyright © 2007 FoodAQ - Terms of Use - Contact us - Privacy Policy

Food's Q&A Resources