Kitchen Hacks
This Viral Hack May Change the Way You Peel Hard-Boiled Eggs
We've never seen this trick before. Have you?
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60 Comments
stivencai
April 8, 2023
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JD F.
April 22, 2022
I generally crack the shell a little around the egg then start rolling my hard-boiled eggs back & forth fairly vigorously between the palms of my hands under cold water until the shell is loosened from the egg, then start peeling. It usually peels away quite easily.
Allison R.
June 20, 2020
What's funny is that people are complaining about leaving the water running, when one egg takes 53 gallons of water to produce.....and you could just eat plants. Go vegan, please. People in glass houses, i swear.
catalinalacruz
June 21, 2020
This isn't a vegan food site, as you may have noticed. And your message would come across much more effectively if you weren't critical.
Stupid
June 24, 2021
Whats funny, is you think that of people didn't consume eggs , all these animals suddenly wouldn't exist and wouldn't need food or water.
Stupid
June 24, 2021
right ..how many gallons do you use to flush vegetable based turds down the toilet and brush all that fiber out of your teeth lol
Lfontana
April 24, 2020
This may already have been said, but The Food Lab cookbook (great read!) has a simple hard boiled egg hack: boil the water first before adding the eggs. The heat shock removes the film from the shell and makes it easier to peel. It also gives the exact minute to the type of boiled egg you’d like (soft to hard boiled)
mdelgatty
April 24, 2020
I've always boiled my eggs this way, and don't have trouble peeling them. Mind you, I also then leave them sitting in cold water for a while... (But I turn the heat off as soon as I put the eggs in the boiling water.)
Susan L.
January 24, 2020
Instant Pot! Cook your eggs under pressure and the shell will slide right off (after its little water bath). I can peel soft-to-hard boiled eggs, one-handed, in no time.
/anne...
January 24, 2020
1. Thanks, I will definitely try that!
2. Yes, that's how you spell 'litres'. If you are in doubt, check the Macquarie Dictionary.
2. Yes, that's how you spell 'litres'. If you are in doubt, check the Macquarie Dictionary.
rosecedar
January 23, 2020
I am another convert to the steaming method. I do not cool the cooked egs in cold water (I read this actually makes them harder to peel). Those I will not use right away I cool at room them and store unpeeled in the fridge. To peel, I tap on the counter at the broad end first, then all around, the I roll the egg on the countertop a bit. I start to peel at the broad end, making sure that the membrane is broken there so that it will come away with the peel. If I encounter any difficulty, I run the egg under the tap, as the running water helps separate the peel. This has been working for me perfectly for months, using high quality eggs from local small farms that I purchase at my local coop or farmers market. I'm not sure if these would be the "super fresh" eggs that some folks say are more challenging.
Beckyjbressler
January 23, 2020
My friend has been the go to deviled egg queen for years & she swears by shaking the eggs (1 at a time) in a covered canning jar. No water necessary.
AngiePanda
March 1, 2020
I'm going to try that next time I have a dozen boiled eggs to peel, thanks!
martha F.
January 23, 2020
Kanji Lopez Alt’s steamed eggs are always perfect and the easiest to peel. 1 or a dozen. Google it
Dorinda C.
January 23, 2020
When I boil the eggs I drain the water and then add a little to the pot with the top on and shake hard. Peels come off easy. Been doing this for years
ChefGirl
January 23, 2020
The link to the video doesn't work.
cindy_perkins_marlow
April 24, 2020
It didn't for me either on the first click but I clicked again and it did.
Donna D.
January 23, 2020
I find steaming the eggs rather than boiling them then cooling them in cold water and peeling under running water to work best for me.
CB
January 17, 2020
We teach this technique to students in our Food Science class at the University of Arizona. It works extremely well. What do I do if I am hard boiling eggs for later use and don't want to peel them immediately after cooking?
zapatera
January 16, 2020
Steaming eggs seems to solve the sticky shell problem. It’s especially handy if you’re cooking a lot of eggs at one time. But if I just want an egg or two, I’ll steam a half-dozen at once, and have a hoard for my next egg salad, or whatever. I simply use my bamboo steamer, and never pierced the shells. I think NY Times Cooking has the full instructions for hard or softer cooked eggs.
Barbara C.
January 16, 2020
I bought an egg steamer and it tells you how much water for hard or soft boiled eggs. Yes, you need to pierce the large end of the egg. A stylus comes with the unit. Couldn’t be easier. And the eggs are perfect 👌
Anne Y.
January 17, 2020
I have an "egg pricker" my mother gave me decades ago and use it several times a week. Interesting that the amount of water would be the governing variable rather than time. Curious about how an egg steamer is different from just putting the eggs into a regular steamer basket. BUT I will look on line to find out.
Anne Y.
January 16, 2020
Several people mentioned steaming eggs, which is new to me. How long and timed from when? when water boils? Do you need to prick the end with the air sack to prevent leakage?
catalinalacruz
January 16, 2020
This is how I do it, using a collapsible steamer basket. I steam the eggs for 10 minutes.
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020468-perfect-boiled-eggs
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020468-perfect-boiled-eggs
Charles
January 16, 2020
First, if you add vinegar and baking soda to the water I think all you are doing is making salt. (Acid and a base mixed make a salt if I remember chemistry class. It was over 40 years ago, so I might be mistaken). The vinegar will stop the leak. Second, who cares if you wasted a quart of tap water? All the water whiners I hope you take Navy showers.
Sharon R.
January 16, 2020
Basically the hack does what I've always done: pop the
eggs into a dish of ice-cold water and then hit it against the side of the sink to get as many cracks in it as you can (which BTW is the same method I use for 6-minute eggs).
eggs into a dish of ice-cold water and then hit it against the side of the sink to get as many cracks in it as you can (which BTW is the same method I use for 6-minute eggs).
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