Peeling Eggs the Easy Way
I know I promised you free stuff. But I just had to talk to you about the hassles of peeling hard boiled eggs.
You know the problems, right? Sometimes the shell comes off perfectly; most times, though, it's a mess, with bits of shell left on the egg and your fingers. (Okay, so your spouse peels the eggs, not you. Just use your imagination, okay?)
I've heard of dozens of solutions, from using fresh (or is it old?) eggs, boiling them in vinegar (or was that hydrogen peroxide?), adding salt to the water (or not), or sticking the cooked eggs in a paper bag with garlic cloves before peeling them.
As a public service (enhancing your culinary skills may help you land a job one day), I found a few seemingly miraculous gadgets to help peel your hard-boiled oeufs.
The first is the Eggstractor, a strange little device that may or may not work, depending on who's reviewing it. An ABC TV station in Philadelphia said, "We're not doing too good with the Eggstractor." OTOH, the TV Gadget Judge gave it a partial thumbs up. Then again, the Judge may have given "Titanic" a thumbs up (I didn't), the measure I use to determine the value of any reviewer's review.
Other Tools to Try
You say you don't want to spend the bucks on the Eggstractor? Eggactly what I thought you'd say. No problemo. I have some other soft-boiled serving suggestions.
You could use, say, a fan (fans have been hit by far worse things), a table saw, or a miniature hammer and anvil. (There are more bizarre techniques at EggPeeling.com.)
The Best, Quickest, and Smartest Method
There's this video floating around the Web with a guy who seems to have the egg peeling thing nailed. The question is whether the guy's a skilled egg peeler -- or a cunning sleight-of-hand artist.
Either way, if you try this at home, please, please make sure to cook the eggs first.
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I'm not so sure his method doesn't work. I remember seeing advertisements for an egg peeler that attached to the kitchen sink faucet. The force of the water would supposedly "wash" the shell off the hard-boiled egg. In this guy's case he used air to force the shell off.
As for the egg-peeling videos, none of those are actually peeling - just cutting off the top.
I bought a little gadget for three bucks twenty years ago that works like a charm, and is still going strong. All it is is a piece of plastic with an indent containing a small, short nail. Place the large end of the egg over the nail - press down until it penetrates, and boil as usual. Most shells just fall right off.
(the most difficult eggs to peel are those that are very very fresh).
After you boil the eggs, immediatly place them in very cold water. This makes the skin stick to the shell, not the egg. To peel the egg, crack it at the largest part of the egg and pull the skin with the peel. Works every time.
Aw, gee whiz, I've tried a couple dozen eggs, but it seems I can't blow hard enough. Do I have to use brown eggs for it to work? Anybody have a recipe for using up 2 dozen boiled mangled eggs?
I've seen my husband do the exact same thing. It does work like the video shows.
We've found a simple easy solution to egg peeling. Hard boil, drain, cool in refrigerator. When you are ready to use put the hard boiled egg in a glass of hot tap water for a few minutes. It peel easily after that.
We've found a simple easy solution to egg peeling. Hard boil, drain, cool in refrigerator. When you are ready to use put the hard boiled egg in a glass of hot tap water for a few minutes. It peels easily after that.
Pierce the large end of the egg with a pin or skewer being careful not to penetrate the inner membrane. Bring eggs to boil. Remove from heat and cover. Let stand 15 minutes. Cool in cold water. Shell then removes easily.
A long time ago, a newspaper column called Heloise's Hints suggested draining the hot water after hard-boiling the eggs, and shaking the pan gently until the (hot) egg shells are evenly cracked, then to immediately fill the pan with cold water, let stand for 30 seconds, then slip off the shells while still wet. Do not allow the shells to dry before "peeling." This procedure worked on eggs with heavier membranes. Some eggs today have a much flimsier membrane and thinner shell, and the procedure doesn't work so well on these. Egg gourmets, on the other hand, grimace at the thought of this handling, as it toughens the protein, making the egg less digestible.
I love peeling eggs. I always claim that it's very therapeutic if you are on mental overload but I digress. The easiest way to peel eggs is to tap it gently a few times till you see a few cracks in the shell. After that, you can either roll it between your palms or on the kitchen counter. A few rolls later, the entire shell will peel off in your hands. This method normally takes less than a minute to complete.