Cooking an egg has no mystery or difficulty. Peeling it is another matter. It is enough for the shell to remain a little more adherent than necessary for the egg to end up full of “bites”, no matter how much care we take when removing each little piece. And although there are those who seem to have an inexplicable gift for leaving them impeccable, achieving it has more to do with cooking than with personal skill.
The home remedies available are almost endless: adding vinegar or baking soda to the water, piercing the shell with a needle, or rolling the egg on the counter. However, the simplest solution starts before all that. Instead of placing the eggs in cold water and then heating it, it is better to wait for it to boil and then introduce them with the help of a spoon.
Better with the water already boiling
Upon sudden contact with hot water, the proteins on the outside of the egg white coagulate quickly and adhere less to the membrane under the shell. In addition to being scientifically based, Serious Eats conducted tests to conclude that this method gave better results when peeling them than starting cold cooking. Of course, the spoon is not a dispensable detail because it allows you to place them carefully and prevents them from colliding with the bottom of the saucepan.
Once inside, we lower the heat a little so that the water continues to boil without the eggs moving from one side to the other. Seven minutes are enough for the yolk to become creamy. Although if we want the typical well-done hard-boiled egg for a salad, to make some deviled eggs or to carry in the container, we will need approximately ten or eleven minutes, depending on the size and how cold they are.
Leaving them too long does not cause the peel to stick more, although it does not matter either. The white acquires a rubbery texture and that famous greenish ring may appear around the yolk, the result of a reaction between the iron and sulfur in the egg. It can be eaten, but it is not the boiled egg that we dream of when we put the saucepan on the fire.
The ice bath that completes the trick
As soon as the cooking time is up, we take out the eggs and leave them for ten to fifteen minutes in a bowl with very cold water and ice. This way we stop the cooking and make it easier for the white to separate from the membrane. Then we can gently hit the widest part, where the air chamber is, crack the entire surface and remove the shell under a trickle of water.
How fresh they are also influences. Newly laid eggs are usually the most difficult to peel because their white is more acidic and remains very attached to the membrane. As the days go by, they lose carbon dioxide through the pores of the shell, their pH increases and that bond weakens. If we have several in the refrigerator, it is worth saving the ones we bought first to cook and leaving the newer ones for omelettes, scrambled eggs or fried eggs.
The trick of putting the egg in a jar with a little water and shaking it can help loosen a particularly stubborn shell, although it should be reserved for completely set eggs. One with a creamy yolk is enough to end up crushed.
Cover photo | Rasa Kasparaviciene
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