primitives discuss boiling eggs

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=268x3835

Oh my.

This is in the "rural" forum, rather than the cooking and baking forum; one wonders what's up with that.

LWolf  (1000+ posts)        Wed Aug-04-10 07:18 PM
Original message
 
What are your best strategies for boiling fresh eggs?

I haven't tried to do this in several years. After abject failure in past years, poking holes in the shells with a pin, starting them in cold water, not starting them in cold water, cooling them in cold water, not cooling them in cold water, etc., I've yet to get a boiled egg I could peel.

This year my hens are producing an average of 5-6 eggs every day. I'm running out of things to do with them. I want to make egg salad. I want to slice eggs on my green salad.

What's the most important part of the egg? The white, if you're trying to limit cholesterol intake. But when I boil my eggs, by the time I get all the shell off, it's almost all yolk. The white simply won't separate from the shell.

I guess I could let them get old. But what's the point in having fresh eggs, if you can't eat them fresh?

Anybody have any good tips for peeling fresh boiled eggs without destroying them?

Ain't nuthin' wrong with having to throw away the egg white.

The perfect egg is all yolk.

Donnachaidh  (1000+ posts)      Wed Aug-04-10 07:21 PM
Response to Original message
 
1. rice steamer works really well for hard-cooked eggs

We have a small one, and can only do 6 eggs at a time, but the steamer is perfect for making eggs. No green edges, eggs are cooked thoroughly. If you have a steamer, try it.

Duer 157099  (1000+ posts)        Wed Aug-04-10 07:21 PM
Response to Original message
 
2. I wish I could help but like you, have tried all the tricks and the absolutely only reliable way for certain is to use old eggs, which as you point out, defeats the purpose of having fresh eggs.

Hopefully somebody will come up with an answer, but I think we both know we've already empirically discovered the answer.

Post over in the Cooking/Baking forum?

That's franksolich's suggestion.

I'm sure the defrocked warped primitive would have an answer.

Curmudgeoness  (746 posts)      Wed Aug-04-10 07:23 PM
Response to Original message
 
4. You are right, they should not be too fresh, but try a little vinegar in the water you boil them in. I hate hard boiled eggs so don't know if it works, but my mother swore by it. And as to having the eggs fresh, and what is the point of leaving them for a while, you want hard boiled eggs. You still didn't have to buy the eggs. Hope you find a way to do this.

abelenkpe  (1000+ posts)     Wed Aug-04-10 07:24 PM
Response to Original message
 
5. Have you tried boiling them a bit longer than usual with a dash of salt?

Sometimes I'll peel them under cold water too. Still the very best solution is to let them get a bit older. We make a batch of boiled eggs every Sunday for the kids lunches during the week and for egg salad sammiches. Yummy!

One Voice  (259 posts)      Wed Aug-04-10 07:27 PM
Response to Original message

6. boil 3 min./ simmer 10 min.

don't remember where I heard that but it works pretty well for me.

planetc (205 posts)        Wed Aug-04-10 07:28 PM
Response to Original message
 
7. All righty

Stick them in a pan with water to cover the eggs. Bring to a boil. As soon as the water has boiled, TURN the flame/heat DOWN until the eggs are boiling gently. Heat reduction should prevent the shells from cracking while the whites are still liquid and leaking out into the water. After the eggs have boiled gently for 15 minutes, take them off the heat, and run a lot of cold water into the pan with the eggs in it. So this for several minutes. You're trying to cool the shells so they will come loose from the membrane that contains the white and the yoke. Crack the shells lightly against any hard surface, and start peeling the shells and the membrane away from the white, which is, we hope, still inside the shell and fully cooked. The yolk will be cooked too. You are now ready to make egg salad and deviled eggs. This method has worked nicely for me for almost 50 years. Best of luck!

Jamastiene  (1000+ posts)        Wed Aug-04-10 07:34 PM
Response to Reply #7
 
8. That is similar to how I do it. 

The only difference is that once mine start boiling, I start the timer and let them boil a full 10 minutes from that point on. Then, I run the cold water in the pan and cool them off.

The trick that took me forever to learn was to only crack the center point on one side of the egg only. Instead of cracking the shell up as much as I could, which is what I did for a long time until I leaned this trick, I just crack each egg in one spot right in the middle. Then, I peel it from there. Doing it that way keeps the white from falling apart so bad. I don't know why, but for me, it just works.

planetc (205 posts)        Wed Aug-04-10 07:51 PM
Response to Reply #7
 
11. pt. 2

Sorry, I didn't say part of that right. There's a membrane just inside the shell. Cooling the shell will make the membrane stick to the shell rather than the white, or shrink the white away from the membrane, I'm not sure which. Cooling the shell will separate the white from the membrane, so the white retains its shape, rather than sticking to the membrane in little chunks. (I could show you this easily if you were in my kitchen.) Victory is possible!

niceypoo  (1000+ posts)        Wed Aug-04-10 07:45 PM
Response to Original message
 
9. Salt in the water so they dont sink

They crack much less this way

izquierdista (1000+ posts)        Wed Aug-04-10 08:17 PM
Response to Original message
 
13. It's not the start

But the end of the boil that is important. Scoop them out of the boiling water with a ladle and put them immediately into cold (doesn't have to be ice) water. The temperature drop will leave you with an easily peeled egg. Crack the ends, and start peeling where the airspace is and it should come off cleanly.

RC  (1000+ posts)      Wed Aug-04-10 08:40 PM
Response to Original message
 
14. The reason you are have trouble peeling your eggs are because they are fresh.

Let them sit in the refrigerator a couple of weeks, then boil them.

Is everyone so citified they don't know stuff that anymore?

By the way, eggs will "keep" in the refrigerator for more than a year, maybe even two years.

franksolich knows.

LWolf  (1000+ posts)        Wed Aug-04-10 08:45 PM
Response to Reply #14
 
15. I KNOW that.

It's the whole point. I want FRESH boiled eggs, not old boiled eggs.

Picky, picky.

[JohnnyReb]

Tune in next week folks when we discuss "How to Boil Water".

[Carl]

Good God they are helpless idiots.

[Ballygrl]

By the way, eggs will "keep" in the refrigerator for more than a year, maybe even two years.

franksolich knows.

Frank, do you mean fresh eggs will keep fresh for a year? or the store bought ones?

[debk]

Living in the South, deviled eggs seem to be mandatory for most every function....30+ years later, I still haven't figured out why, because they are a PIA to make.

Over the years, I have found the best way to have them peel easily (doing 3 or 4 dozen at a time, requires "quick peeling")...is to buy the eggs at least 3 or 4 days before I'm going to hard boil them.

I do the cold water start, boil for 15 minutes or so, dump out the hot water, fill the pot with cold and add ice, let them sit while I get all my stuff together to do the egg yolks. I peel under cold water. Crack 'em and try to get the membrane started first and they will peel cleanly.

Using "new" eggs from the grocery, and I will have gouges in the white, and be cussing something fierce by the 3rd egg. 

[Ballygrl]

I love deviled eggs but hate making them. I don't eat eggs often, but when I do I love the yolk, I can't eat the white part of the egg at all, I gag if I do.

[franksolich]

Frank, do you mean fresh eggs will keep fresh for a year? or the store bought ones?

I always have a combination of several dozen store-bought and farm-bought eggs here,

I would NOT suggest anyone else do this, but I'm different from most people; I can take risks.

Two winters ago, when I was snowed in here, I got a hankering for some eggs, both scrambled and hard-boiled.

I grabbed a carton of store-bought eggs, putting them in both the water and on the frying pan.

As I was putting the carton back into the refrigerator, I noticed the expiration date stamped on it; it had "expired" fifteen months previously.

I didn't notice anything special about their taste.

My rule of thumb is--remember, I can take risks--screw the "expiration date;" if it looks bad or smells bad, don't mess with it, but otherwise.....

When I moved to this place several years ago, there were many of those old rectangular tin boxes of Schilling's spices and herbs here.  I was the first person to live in this place for eleven years, when I moved here.  And the person before me had been an elderly woman who had rarely gotten out the last twenty years of her life. 

One could determine the age of these tins of herbs and spices by that: (a) they pre-dated UPC codes and (b) had those old price-stickers on them, usually 19 cents.  I've always been using them, and haven't noticed anything wrong with these antique spices and herbs.

As I said, I wouldn't suggest anyone else do this, but I manage.

[debk]

I love deviled eggs but hate making them. I don't eat eggs often, but when I do I love the yolk, I can't eat the white part of the egg at all, I gag if I do.

I will eat the yolk in scrambled, omelet, egg salad, or deviled egg. I don't eat soft boiled and I cut around the yolk on over-easy eggs. It has to be "disguised".

I do my deviled egg yolks in the food processor, sooooo easy. First a bit of onion, then the yolks, mayo, Gulden's spicy mustard, parsley, bit of garlic powder, cayenne, add salt and pepper to taste. I pipe it into the yolks and then sprinkle paprika on top.


I don't follow the expiration date on eggs either, unless they are going in a dessert and aren't cooked. I only have them for any length of time, when I've bought a whole bunch at holiday time and not used them right away. Although they are usually used within a month of the expiration date.

[Ballygrl]

Thanks for the info on the eggs and spices, I can get anal at times and throw the eggs out the day after they expire, and I load up on spices when it's on sale but I could have them in the house for a few years, hubby says don't throw them out when they expire, he says there's nothing wrong with them, so maybe I'll chance eggs and spices that go over the expiration date.

[delilahmused]

Put fresh, room temperature eggs in cold water. Bring them to a hard boil and let them boil for a few minutes. Turn the heat off and cover tightly. Run off and do something else and forget about them completely. An hour or so later remember you were making hard boiled eggs. They should still be warm. Don't dump out the warm water, just run cold water in the saucepan until the all the water in the pan is cold. Take the eggs out of the pan one at a time. Roll them over the counter top until there are small cracks all over the shell. The shell should peel right off. Sometimes I have to run cold water while I peel them. I've experimented with every technique I've read about over the years. This is a combination of all I've tried and works about 95% of the time. Of the times it doesn't what difference does it make if the white looks a little weird? Those are just candidates for egg salad.

Cindie

[debk]

Thanks for the info on the eggs and spices, I can get anal at times and throw the eggs out the day after they expire, and I load up on spices when it's on sale but I could have them in the house for a few years, hubby says don't throw them out when they expire, he says there's nothing wrong with them, so maybe I'll chance eggs and spices that go over the expiration date.

Don't store your spices in the light - like a spice rack on the counter, above the stove, or in an upper cabinet next to the stove. Light and heat do something to diminish the strength.

Mine are in drawers in this house, but I've always kept them in cabinets before, just not the ones next to the stove.

[NHSparky]

Living in the South, deviled eggs seem to be mandatory for most every function....30+ years later, I still haven't figured out why, because they are a PIA to make.

Over the years, I have found the best way to have them peel easily (doing 3 or 4 dozen at a time, requires "quick peeling")...is to buy the eggs at least 3 or 4 days before I'm going to hard boil them.

I do the cold water start, boil for 15 minutes or so, dump out the hot water, fill the pot with cold and add ice, let them sit while I get all my stuff together to do the egg yolks. I peel under cold water. Crack 'em and try to get the membrane started first and they will peel cleanly.

Using "new" eggs from the grocery, and I will have gouges in the white, and be cussing something fierce by the 3rd egg. 

I don't suppose I could interest you in some crab deviled eggs, could I?

If you're gonna make deviled eggs, might as well make those.  I just take some fresh crab meat (or hell, use a can if you're so inclined, but I'd go fresh), mayo, dijon mustard, capers and caper juice, salt and pepper.  Take it from there.

Oh. My. GAWD.  They are good.

[true_blood]

Good God they are helpless idiots.

HA HA!!!
This why they want the gubberment to tell them what to eat, when to eat and what to eat. They're mindless!

[Ballygrl]

Don't store your spices in the light - like a spice rack on the counter, above the stove, or in an upper cabinet next to the stove. Light and heat do something to diminish the strength.

Mine are in drawers in this house, but I've always kept them in cabinets before, just not the ones next to the stove.

Good advice! The majority of them are in 1 of those racks you get at Home Depot to give you additional kitchen storage, we have that attached to the basement door, so the spices are almost always in the dark. I just keep a few spices that I use a lot near the stove, but I may have to re-think that now.

[NHSparky]

Good advice! The majority of them are in 1 of those racks you get at Home Depot to give you additional kitchen storage, we have that attached to the basement door, so the spices are almost always in the dark. I just keep a few spices that I use a lot near the stove, but I may have to re-think that now.

Mine are in a cupboard, away from the stove.  Kind of a PITA, but I do most of my prep on the counter by that area because it's the biggest area.  And no, DUmmies--most spices don't last forever.  Stuff like basil, oregano, etc., last maybe a year.  If it LOOKS old, it IS old, and will taste like crap if you put it in food.

This is why people like me grow our own herbs, and dry the remaining stuff for winter.

Anybody want some basil?  I can't give that stuff away fast enough.

[Chris_]

Living in the South, deviled eggs seem to be mandatory for most every function....30+ years later, I still haven't figured out why, because they are a PIA to make.

I love deviled eggs, especially topped with spicy paprika.  I could eat them all day.  Never tried to make them though... I have no idea what's involved.

[NHSparky]

I love deviled eggs, especially topped with spicy paprika.  I could eat them all day.  Never tried to make them though... I have no idea what's involved.

It's not that bad.

After you've boiled/peeled the eggs, pull the yolks out, mash them up with a fork, and for every dozen eggs add about 1/4 cup of mayo, some mustard (or ground mustard and vinegar), salt and pepper.  Mix it up, scoop them back into the eggs, and top with paprika.

[Ballygrl]

Mine are in a cupboard, away from the stove.  Kind of a PITA, but I do most of my prep on the counter by that area because it's the biggest area.  And no, DUmmies--most spices don't last forever.  Stuff like basil, oregano, etc., last maybe a year.  If it LOOKS old, it IS old, and will taste like crap if you put it in food.

This is why people like me grow our own herbs, and dry the remaining stuff for winter.

Anybody want some basil?  I can't give that stuff away fast enough.

I really need to do some cleaning out of my cabinets in the kitchen. We have a client who grows basil and she always gives us some, it's the best.

[soleil]

Living in the South, deviled eggs seem to be mandatory for most every function....30+ years later, I still haven't figured out why, because they are a PIA to make.

Over the years, I have found the best way to have them peel easily (doing 3 or 4 dozen at a time, requires "quick peeling")...is to buy the eggs at least 3 or 4 days before I'm going to hard boil them.

I do the cold water start, boil for 15 minutes or so, dump out the hot water, fill the pot with cold and add ice, let them sit while I get all my stuff together to do the egg yolks. I peel under cold water. Crack 'em and try to get the membrane started first and they will peel cleanly.

Using "new" eggs from the grocery, and I will have gouges in the white, and be cussing something fierce by the 3rd egg. 

Oh yeah! Deviled eggs for Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc. Mmmm! Love love love them! And yes a definite PIA to make!

[PatriotGame]

I love deviled eggs, especially topped with spicy paprika.  I could eat them all day.  Never tried to make them though... I have no idea what's involved.

Eggs...

[Chris_]

[Chris_]

I really need to do some cleaning out of my cabinets in the kitchen. We have a client who grows basil and she always gives us some, it's the best.

Basil is almost foolproof.  I grew some in a little pot off my apartment balcony a few years ago... as long as you keep the soil from drying out and give it some sunlight, it will grow.

[JohnnyReb]

Oh yeah! Deviled eggs for Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc. Mmmm! Love love love them! And yes a definite PIA to make!

Oh yeah...At the family get togethers, I always mind my manners when I go through the line the first time and get only "ONE" deviled egg....but when it comes to 2 nds & 3 rds...lets just say, nobody takes home leftover deviled eggs if I'm there.

[debk]

Oh yeah...At the family get togethers, I always mind my manners when I go through the line the first time and get only "ONE" deviled egg....but when it comes to 2 nds & 3 rds...lets just say, nobody takes home leftover deviled eggs if I'm there.

Sounds like my house....I made...uh, attempted to make...3 doz deviled eggs for July 4th. I think I ended up with about 30 to put on trays. M and my son, kept grabbing them!  Finally told them if they took one more before dinner, they were going to lose a hand. 

[Chris_]

My mom's English and my dad's from the Bronx... deviled eggs just didn't happen at our house.  I think the first time I had them was probably some open house or summer party in the neighborhood and someone else made them.