Easy Peel Hard Boiled Eggs Trick

Cooking Tip of the Day

Chefs have their own special tricks to make the job of peeling hard-boiled eggs effortless. Here are several tricks that cooks can use to help make peeling hard-boiled eggs easier.

Start with eggs that are 2 weeks old or older. They will peel easier than fresher eggs.

Hard boiled eggs are easier to peel when cold eggs, directly from the refrigerator, are placed into hot, boiling water.

Some cooks have luck with adding a teaspoon of baking soda, a pinch of salt, or 3 tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice when boiling eggs.

One of the most common methods is to put boiling eggs into a bowl of water with ice cubes. This also prevents overcooking and the dark ring that sometimes appears on the outer portion of the yolk. The cold water also causes the egg whites to contract which releases them from the membrane of the shell. Chill the eggs for about 15 minutes. Warm eggs peel easier than cold eggs.

Start peeling a hard-boiled egg at the large end of the egg.

Some people have the best results by gently cracking the entire egg shell and then peeling the eggs under cold, running water.

One chef’s trick is to steam eggs in a steamer basket over boiling water for 13 minutes. Cool in cold water for 15 minutes. No ice needed.

Another chef has a fool-proof method for peeling hard boiled eggs. Have a bowl of cold water ready. Drain the water off the eggs immediately after taking them off the stove. A crack is made in each egg as it is placed into the cold water. This method cools the egg and gets water between the egg and shell.

Another chef trick is to add a tablespoon of vegetable oil to the boiling water. The oil seeps into the egg through the shell and the eggs peel perfectly every time.

Hard boiled eggs with their shells can be stored in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days. However, once shelled, they can be kept for just one day.

An article on using hard-boiled eggs:

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