I had the foresight to boil eggs last night (multi-tasking)

[UTUSN]

for egg salad on multi-grain breakfast this morning. Am in the homestretch of reading The Power Broker by Robert CARO, whose 4th volume of his LBJ bio will debut in a couple of weeks. Whew, if just reading his books is the belly of the beast, what is his *writing/researching* them?!1 So in a breather, it occurred to me that I might as well get something (else) done while reading, and what could be less labor intensive than boiling eggs?!1

The unforeseen consequence was that, starting them off on extra low heat and increasing in stages, then their cooling overnight, led to flawless PEELING this morning. Maybe THAT's the secret to the peeling dilemma!1

[siligut]

1. I was taught to boil eggs like that

To fill the pot with cold water, place the eggs in it, turn burner on to high, turn down after it starts a rolling boil, so as not to crack the eggs. The whole process takes about 20 minutes and then you run the eggs under cold water, supposedly that prevents the outside of the yolks from discoloring.

These seem to peel easily, though I was told the age of the eggs makes a difference too, the older the egg, the easier it is to peel.

[UTUSN]

2. "the older the egg" - heck, now I'm going to obsess because these WERE old(er) do they spoil, eggs!1

[siligut]

4. I have never had an egg spoil

I keep eggs in the frig until we use them all up. One week, Mr gut bought a dozen and I didn't know, so I bought another dozen. They lasted just fine. The time stamp on the dozen I have now says May 5th; what does yours say?

[UTUSN]

7. OMZ!1 It says 04-11-12!1 Are you trying to drive me MAD?!1 I didn't know abt time stamps!1 n/t

[siligut]

9. That is the date that the eggs should be sold by

And I think they are certainly good for at least a few weeks after that. Of course I am not trying to drive you mad.

http://www.agr.state.il.us/programs/consumer/egg/eggconsguide.html

Is it safe to use eggs after the "sell by" or expiration date has passed?
Yes. "Sell by" or expiration codes indicate freshness, not necessarily wholesomeness. Since egg quality deteriorates over time, "sell by" dates are used to ensure the grade specified on the label is accurate. If stored properly, eggs may be safely consumed several weeks beyond the expiration date.

[rug]

11. Lol!

[lunatica]

3. That's similar to how I boil eggs

The only difference is that when the water comes to a boil I turn the heat off and wait 22 minutes then run cold water over them to stop the cooking.

[siligut]

5. Turning the heat off would save a little energy, good to know

Now . . . how easily do they peel?

[lunatica]

6. It depends on how old the eggs are

If you bought them fresh and cooked them right away the shells stick to the egg white. It's a toss up.

But you can keep the sticking to a minimum if you crack the egg shells by rolling them on a paper towel on the counter top so they crack a lot. Then after I peel them I put them in cold water to get all the itty bitty pieces of shell off.

Nothing worse than biting into a beautiful hard boiled egg and get the crunch of egg shell.

[UTUSN]

8. & embarrassing when *guests* (witnesses) get the crunch!1 n/t

[Kaleva]

10. This is what I do.

I boil the eggs till some of the shells begin to crack and then immediately place the eggs in ice water to chill. After a few minutes, I'll take each egg and roll it back and forth on the counter with the palm of my hand cracking the shell in the middle. Most of the eggs are then very easy to peel.