Trap ‘em! Shake ‘em! Shock ‘em! Sounds like torture right? When it comes to peeling the
perfect hard-boiled egg, this is science, baby! Let’s get cracking!
If you're watching this, you probably enjoy eating hard-boiled eggs. What's not to like?
Not only do eggs provide your body with a powerhouse of essential vitamins and minerals,
but you're also fueling yourself with 6 grams of protein with each and every egg you eat.
Let’s snap back to reality for a minute. It can be discouraging when you find yourself
spending more time peeling your eggs than actually eating them. Sure, you're probably
familiar with some egg hacks, but achieving that perfectly hard-boiled egg without the shell?
Now that’s a true feat of strength. According to David Mogford of the Australian Egg Corporation:
"Any eggs a few weeks or less before the 'best before' date is good for hard boiling.”
In recent years, some chefs have argued that apart from age, the ease of peeling hard-boiled
eggs comes down to timing and correct water temperature. So, is there a tried-and-true
method of turning your past kitchen failures into real-life dreams that include easily peeled eggs?
To aid in that perfect peel, credible food experts per Food52 might argue that
hard-boiled eggs should be cooked straight from the fridge in boiling water. Chef J.
Kenji Lopez-Alt provides the science behind this process,
explaining that egg membranes stick more closely to the outer shell when slow-boiled.
“The very best way to unstick a sticky egg shell
is to make sure that it doesn’t get stuck in the first place.”
Next in the perfectly peeled insurance policy is the egg ice bath. The polar
plunge is useful for two things. One, it stops your eggs from cooking. Two,
it allows their insides to set, making peeling a whole lot easier.
Peeling your cracked eggs under running water is another great tip, according to Serious
Eats. By peeling them under water, there will be fewer blemishes and holes in the final product.
A similar method was demonstrated on TikTok by a middle school science teacher. She places
a recently boiled egg in a bowl with cold water, puts a lid on the container, and vigorously shakes
it for a few seconds. Afterward, she reveals the egg and slides the broken shell pieces right off.
According to Lopez-Alt, if you can afford to chill your eggs overnight,
that will make for an even more successful peel attempt than the ice bath. Now, when
it comes to hard-boiling, does the age of your eggs really matter? According to Fine Cooking,
the older an egg gets, the more the albumen, or the white part of an egg, decreases.
When hard-boiled, more space is created between the cooked insides and the hard exterior,
making the eggs easier to peel. Egg expert David Mogford told the Huffington Post
that fresher eggs tend to stick to the outer shells, making a clean peel more difficult.
So ultimately – egg freshness does play a role when you're planning on hard-boiling your eggs.
Fine Cooking suggests waiting two weeks before using farm-fresh eggs for the
hard-boiled method. If you're curious to know just how old your eggs are,
you can always refer to an egg float chart to determine their estimated age.
If you buy your eggs from the grocery store, age is one less thing to worry about,
as most are sold to consumers in-store within a two-month range so they're ready
to cook by the time you unpack your grocery bags, according to the Farmers' Almanac.
Ultimately, older eggs are better when it comes to achieving that clean peel.
Now that you know to consider the age of your eggs before dropping them into a pot of boiling water,
you may be wondering how crucial is cold water in the peeling process?
“Crucial, really.”
Chef J. Kenji Lopez-Alt explains at Serious Eats that the shocking water method,
or placing eggs directly from boiled water into an ice bath, and the slower method of
cooling by allowing eggs to chill slowly in the fridge, both make for an easily peeled egg.
The Kitchn, meanwhile, is a firm believer in the egg-shocking approach, claiming the
fast cooling process causes the egg whites to shrink and separate from the sticky membranes.
But Saveur notes that the longer you leave your eggs in cold water, the harder they are to peel.
Saveur suggests peeling freshly boiled eggs as soon as they've cooled,
starting at the wider end to allow running water to seep in and loosen the shell. As long
as you're using cold water after boiling, you're setting yourself up for some easily peeled eggs.