Peeling hard or soft cooked eggs

[FoodMan]

Thank you for joining us this week Mr. McGee, it's a pleasure to have you.

So, no matter what I do i can almost never peel a boiled egg properly. 9 times out of 10 pieces of the white come of and it looks pretty bad. I tried using fresh eggs or a few days old eggs with the same problem. Do you have any tips how to properly peel a soft or hard cooked egg.

To cook the eggs I never boil them so as not to get a green tinged yolk and rubbery white. Instead I put them in a cold water filled pot, bring slowly to right before boiling. Turn the heat off and cover. For firm hard yolk I leave them for about 10 minutes (about 4 eggs), less for a soft yolk.

Thanks again

Elie

[Harold McGee]

The reason that you’re having trouble peeling the eggs is that you’re making them too good! Very fresh eggs are harder to peel than eggs a few days or weeks old—apparently a matter of the white pH, which rises with age—and when you cook them carefully to produce a tender white, then they’re tender and easily torn. One thing that helps is to firm the whites by icing the eggs before trying to peel them. Otherwise, use older eggs and/or cook them to a firmer consistency.