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How to boil great eggs 80% of the time

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Re: How to boil great eggs 80% of the time

#21

Post by snypher »

baal80spam wrote: post #3
FrankWilhoit wrote: post #2

I struggled with peeling hard-boiled eggs literally all my life until I finally realized what the problem had been right along. If eggs are stored below a certain temperature, which I estimate at 38F though I have only used consumer-grade thermometers, they will not peel. And this applies both before and after cooking. Since I learned this, and adjusted my cold storage accordingly, I have had no problems, except occa…

I live in EU so I don't keep eggs in the refrigerator, and let me tell you that I have problems peeling my eggs half the time. It's not about where or how you store them.

This does not negate what the OP has observed, but I'd like to hear more about your peeling issue, as it could be for a different reason!

Re: How to boil great eggs 80% of the time

#22

Post by mandeepj »

astonex wrote: post #11

Slightly easier in the UK/EU as we don't have to keep our eggs in the fridge. Bring a pot of water to boiling, then once boiling put eggs in for 6.5 minutes, then put in cold water. Will give me perfect eggs every time that look like the first image

> Bring a pot of water to boiling, then once boiling put eggs in for 6.5 minutes, then put in cold water.

I tried that a couple of weeks ago; the yolk was still liquid. It turned out to be a failed experiment. Never again.

Re: How to boil great eggs 80% of the time

#23

Post by asplake »

FrankWilhoit wrote: post #2

I struggled with peeling hard-boiled eggs literally all my life until I finally realized what the problem had been right along. If eggs are stored below a certain temperature, which I estimate at 38F though I have only used consumer-grade thermometers, they will not peel. And this applies both before and after cooking. Since I learned this, and adjusted my cold storage accordingly, I have had no problems, except occa…

Boil older eggs, fry newer ones. The former peel more easily and the latter keep their shape.

Re: How to boil great eggs 80% of the time

#24

Post by ThePowerOfFuet »

>You cannot put the eggs and then boil the water because that is not going to work.

Why would the author say such a thing? In any rate, doing precisely that works wonderfully for me.

>There is some amount of moisture trapped between the shell and the albumin. It prevents the sulfur and iron inside the yolk from forming iron sulfide, which is the grayish color we often see on over-boiled yolks.

Why would "moisture" at a completely different boundary, not at all in contact with the yolk, affect the outside of the yolk? Overcooking is what turns them grey.

This article is absolute bullshit.

Re: How to boil great eggs 80% of the time

#25

Post by maxglute »

mandeepj wrote: post #9

Glad to come across this article. I have been struggling with it. There was an expensive organic tray of eggs at Whole Foods. Those eggs would feel right off; almost always. So, is it about diet? Tried many things like adding vinegar, salt, baking soda; not together, but changing methods during each boil. Have even tried to bring them to room temperature before boiling them but no change. Sent a DM to Kenji, but no r…

Yeah the budget eggs never reliably peel for me.

Re: How to boil great eggs 80% of the time

#26

Post by maxglute »

> 80% of the time

From classic Kenji

> There is no 100% foolproof method

> brute-force method of getting perfect boiled eggs: I boiled at least three times what I needed

Also from surveying friends who work in dining. It took years for me to accept that there will always be hard boil duds. Except ramen shops, apparently a lot of them have machines.

Re: How to boil great eggs 80% of the time

#27

Post by astonex »

mandeepj wrote: post #22
astonex wrote: post #11

Slightly easier in the UK/EU as we don't have to keep our eggs in the fridge. Bring a pot of water to boiling, then once boiling put eggs in for 6.5 minutes, then put in cold water. Will give me perfect eggs every time that look like the first image

> Bring a pot of water to boiling, then once boiling put eggs in for 6.5 minutes, then put in cold water. I tried that a couple of weeks ago; the yolk was still liquid. It turned out to be a failed experiment. Never again.

Are you sure your water was fully boiling? Not just little bubbles at the bottom of the pan, but the top is properly rumbling

Re: How to boil great eggs 80% of the time

#28

Post by Eddy_Viscosity2 »

mandeepj wrote: post #22
astonex wrote: post #11

Slightly easier in the UK/EU as we don't have to keep our eggs in the fridge. Bring a pot of water to boiling, then once boiling put eggs in for 6.5 minutes, then put in cold water. Will give me perfect eggs every time that look like the first image

> Bring a pot of water to boiling, then once boiling put eggs in for 6.5 minutes, then put in cold water. I tried that a couple of weeks ago; the yolk was still liquid. It turned out to be a failed experiment. Never again.

If the eggs come from the fridge they need 13min for a fully cooked yoke. The key is to put the eggs in after the water is already boiling.

Re: How to boil great eggs 80% of the time

#29

Post by calciphus »

mandeepj wrote: post #22
astonex wrote: post #11

Slightly easier in the UK/EU as we don't have to keep our eggs in the fridge. Bring a pot of water to boiling, then once boiling put eggs in for 6.5 minutes, then put in cold water. Will give me perfect eggs every time that look like the first image

> Bring a pot of water to boiling, then once boiling put eggs in for 6.5 minutes, then put in cold water. I tried that a couple of weeks ago; the yolk was still liquid. It turned out to be a failed experiment. Never again.

6.5 minutes is soft boiled for a large (in US egg sizing) egg. Soft boiled eggs don't have fully set yolks or firm whites. These are the kinds of eggs you use for ramen.

If you want a fully set yolk you need more time (about 10 min or so), but that's a personal preference.

See: https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-boil-eggs-perfectly-every-t...

Re: How to boil great eggs 80% of the time

#30

Post by orev »

FrankWilhoit wrote: post #2

I struggled with peeling hard-boiled eggs literally all my life until I finally realized what the problem had been right along. If eggs are stored below a certain temperature, which I estimate at 38F though I have only used consumer-grade thermometers, they will not peel. And this applies both before and after cooking. Since I learned this, and adjusted my cold storage accordingly, I have had no problems, except occa…

The most important data point is whether you’re heating the water with the eggs already in the pot, or if you put them in after the water is boiling.

I found that heating them with the water in the pot always leads to the shell being stuck to the whites, and adding the eggs after the water is boiling (almost) always leads to easy peeling.

I start with refrigerated eggs and warm them in a hot tap water bath while waiting for the pot to boil. This helps to reduce cracking from thermal shock.

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