Sometimes when I make hard boiled eggs they won't peel nicely, what can I do to prevent this?

Question

I bring the cold what to a boil with the eggs in it, and then cover them and let them sit for about 20 mins. Then rinse with cold water until they are cool. Sometimes they peel just fine and other times they break up and the shell just won't come off. Any ideas on this problem would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Use older eggs (a week or more in the fridge) or let new ones come to room temperature for an hour or two... what needs to happen is a mild breakdown in the egg white that allows separation from the shell, then boil as normal. Eggs on average are good for a month under refridgeration, and older eggs allow the breakdown naturally.

Answer 2

Miss SallySue...WHen you put you water on leave the eggs out, let the water boil and then add the eggs. Time them from that point. You can have soft or hard boiled if you wish. Now then here is an important factor. You need to add a healthy dash of salt in the water and a dash of apple cider vinigar to the water. When the eggs are done rince them in cold water then peel them. They will peel easliy.
Regards, Ammo

Answer 3

Peel them under running water. First, break the shell at the large end; that's where there is usually a hollow pocket that will keep you from damaging the egg. While peeling, make sure you are getting the thin membrane under the shell to peel as well. If you are getting the membrane peeled along with the shell it should fall away very easily.

Answer 4

Slightly more aged eggs are better for that. Not out of date, just not brand new. When you rinse them, give the pan a good shake to crack the shells, and let them cool in the cold water. Should make peeling them a lot easier.

I used to boil and peel 30 some eggs a week.

Answer 5

The reason why they are sticking is because you are letting them sit in hot water. As soon as you're done boiling, empty as much of the water as you can, but have the eggs still covered, (do not let the eggs hit air without cold water running) run cold water over eggs until cooled. This will prevent the stickiness from forming. Guaranteed to work every time. Continue peeling under cold water.

Answer 6

Once the water boils for 5 minutes, remove from heat. Immediatly submerse in the coldest water possible. An Ice bath will remove the sulfur (green) from the yolks, but that has nothing to do with the peeling. Once cooled; crack the egg against a hard surface, then roll with your palm against the surface. Start peeling, trying to get under the very thin membrane. Once there, stay under the membrane while peeling, and you will find it moist and will peel much easier. Remember just under the shell there is a very thin membrane you need to get under before you start the peeling process.

Answer 7

At 15 minutes of your cooking process, get a large bowl of cold water and add a tray of ice. After the eggs are done and drained put them all in the bowl of icy water for about 10 minutes.
After that, they should peel in a piece or 2.

It also helps to let the eggs sit on the counter for about 30 minutes before cooking them and not using them straight from the fridge.


Good Luck!

Answer 8

I used to have chickens - fresh eggs will not peel well when hard-boiled! If I left them in the frig for 3 weeks, then they would come out perfect.

Answer 9

The fresher the egg, the harder it is to peel. Also, I heard somewhere that adding salt to the water doesn't affect how the egg peels, but is so that if a shell breaks before the egg is fully cooked, it doesn''t ooze out into the water.

Answer 10

It's the age. In fresh eggs the albumen sticks to the inner shell membrane more strongly than it sticks to itself because of the more acidic environment of the egg. If you wait a couple of days it should be much easier to peel. If you wait a week the whole shell will come off with easy as if you pulled it off in one piece.