Egg white solidifies more quickly in hot, salty water than it does in fresh. So a little salt in your water can minimize the mess if your egg springs a leak while cooking. The egg white solidifies when it hits the salt water, sealing up the crack so that the egg doesn't shoot out a streamer of white.
Add salt to the water to help keep the eggshells from cracking too soon. Add vinegar to water in the pot to make eggshells easier to peel. Add eggs to the cold water. Bring water to a boil.
Add about 1 tablespoon vinegar or 1 teaspoon salt. This prevents cracking. Bring to boil and boil hard for 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and cover.
A boiling start for 30 seconds to a very gentle simmer for 13 minutes, then an ice bath at the end makes perfect, easy-to-peel hard-boiled eggs.
Apparently super fresh eggs are difficult to peel because the pH of the white is more acidic which causes it to adhere to the shell membrane more tightly. Two solutions here – use older eggs or add a little bicarb soda to the cooking water to increase the pH.
You might have heard that you should drop your eggs into room temperature or cold water and then bring the water to a boil. This is a myth. In our tests, bringing the water to a boil first and then lowering the eggs into the bath made for easy peeling and more accurate timing.
Salt – Salting the water makes for perfect hard boiled eggs because it: Increases the temperature of boiling water. This causes the egg white to cook a little faster, which makes it easier to prevent overcooking the yolk.
According to our friends at Delish, adding a teaspoon of baking soda to your boiling pot of water will help the shell peel off seamlessly. Why? The alkaline in the baking soda will help your egg whites loosen up from the shell, making it easier to peel.
Add salt to the water? Egg white solidifies more quickly in hot, salty water than it does in fresh. So a little salt in your water can minimize the mess if your egg springs a leak while cooking.
The quick cooling of the hard-boiled eggs causes the egg whites to contract, freeing them from the membrane. If you let them cool for about 15 minutes, the peeling is much easier.
The vinegar in the water makes the eggs easier to peel. Here's why: The vinegar's acid not only dissolves some of the calcium carbonate in the shell, it also helps the whites set faster. Running the hard-boiled eggs under cold running water as you're peeling, meanwhile, helps the shell separate from the membrane.
Because older eggs have more alkaline, you shouldn't add vinegar to the cooking water, though some recipes recommend it. Adding about a teaspoon of baking soda to the cooking water increases the alkalinity, which will make the eggs easier to peel later on.
What you do: Brush the lemon juice all over the eggshell before you pop the egg into the pot of cold water on the stove. Then proceed as usual boiling your egg for your preferred amount of time. Why this works: The acidity of the lemon juice helps keep the shells intact as the eggs cook.
Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat to low (so that there's no bubbles) and use skimmer to gently and slowly add the eggs to the water. Then, turn the heat back up to a boil. Set a timer and cook the eggs for 6 to 7 minutes for soft-boiled eggs and 12 to 14 minutes for hard-boiled eggs.
What do you recommend? I've got hot salt, porcini salt, saffron salt, rosemary salt, truffle salt, porcini salt, “herb salt” (rosemary/sage/oregano/bay/scallion/white+black pepper/garlic/juniper), fiori salt (bunch of flowers), fennel salt, lemon salt, smoked applewood salt, and about a hundred others.
Carefully place the eggs in a large saucepan; add cold water to cover by one inch, and bring to a rolling boil. Cover pan; remove from heat. Let stand 12 minutes, then drain and rinse under cool water. To store, keep eggs unpeeled in the refrigerator, up to 4 days.
It's important to start the eggs in cold water — bringing the water and eggs up in temperature together ensures even cooking and prevents cracking. Bring the water to a rolling boil over high heat, then immediately remove the pan from the heat. Cover, and let stand for 10 minutes. Carefully pour out the hot water.
Tips for Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs:
Don't cover with the lid or you won't be able to see when the water starts boiling. Set a timer as soon as the water is at a boil (keep watch for the start of the boil so you aren't guessing at your timings).
If your egg white has a green or iridescent look, it may have harmful bacteria. It may not be safe for consumption. If you notice that the color is off, smell your egg. It's always good to err on the side of caution and throw out eggs that may be bad.
Give the eggs at least five minutes in the ice bath before you try to peel them—letting them cool may help make it easier to peel them, but it's also so you don't burn your hands.
It can take 12-24 hours before a good portion of the shell is removed. A good sign of progress is a white frothy scummy layer on the top of the surface of the vinegar. After a day of soaking you can carefully remove the egg from the vinegar.
For maximum freshness, leave them in their shells until you are ready to eat or prepare. The shell will help to protect the egg from bacteria, and can help prevent them from absorbing odors from other foods in your refrigerator.
You're seeing a reaction between a compound in the eggshell (calcium carbonate) and an acid in the vinegar (acetic acid). This reaction creates carbon dioxide (and some other things) and breaks down the eggshell in the process. The membrane underneath the shell doesn't react, so it's left behind.