I tried olive oil in the water when I boiled eggs this Christmas. Easiest eggs I've ever peeled.

Funny you should post this. When I discovered this tip about steaming boiled eggs a couple years ago, I was absolutely thrilled. I had always tried all the other little tips about using ice cubes afterwards and using only old eggs (not real fresh) and yada yada yada.

It's amazing all the effort that has gone on with this problem. I'm sure many will post here their tips but what I had always discovered was that these little tips only worked some of the time (or at best most of the time), not ALL of the time.

When I started steaming, it was ALL of the time but then recently, I have run into a snag. Not sure if it is the brand of eggs or what. Maybe because I've started refrigerating and peeling later - may be reason my peeling is not so easy.

Anyway, if I peel right away, not a problem. Guess that is better than nothing. But wanted to warn those who try this. when I posted a couple of years ago, I was so adament it was perfect. Now I think it is only %100 if peeled immediately (or when still warm).

elphaba You were the person I originally heard this tip from, years ago. Agree, peel them immediately.

elphaba, you're right. If you think about it, peeling the eggs while they're still warm means the membrane inside the shell hasn't contracted yet, therefore binding it to the shell and making the eggs harder to peel. (I don't know where/or why ice cubes ever entered into the picture, as that doesn't help a thing.) Cooling the hot eggs with cool water immediately, is the best solution to getting the eggshell off.

And....actually the steaming has no bearing on the final result....the clue is to crack those eggs all over and immerse in cold water and start peeling. That works even if you boil the eggs in water to cover.
And if for some reason you want to keep the eggs in their shell, say to send with lunches, boil them in water which has had some vinegar and a goodly amount of salt added. The vinegar removes the protective coating on the shell and the salt draws a little moisture from the egg....making the shell not fit so tightly.

Well all I can say is that those of you who have not had the trouble peeling your eggs need to consider yourselves lucky! I've been boiling eggs since I was 18 years old and I'm now 48 and I never had one little bit of trouble cooking them the way my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook taught me to until a few years ago when suddenly the peels would take half the white out with it. I spent literally days researching on the internet suggestions as to what to do and nothing has made one bit of difference until someone told me to steam them just the other day. I just went and made a batch, peeled them with absolutely no problem whatsoever. It's not cooking error, it's something with the eggs we are getting. I can only assume it's their diet that's having some strange effect on the shells. I'm just so happy someone mentioned steaming because in all my days of researching, I never once ran across anyone suggesting to steam them. This is the answer!

I think that is what makes an egg cooker so effective. The water goes in the bottom and the eggs set above it in a small rack. Even with the egg cooker, I still break the shell while it is still hot and put them in a bowl of cold water.

I encourage an experiment. After cracking the egg shell, put one egg into cool water, and another into cold water. See which one is easier to peel! Since I know the answer to this, I'll wait to see what you find out.

Well I really don't care if you think you know the answer to your experiment because I've tried the OL' put them in a bath of ice water(which is supposed to be the answer) with ZERO results...thanks anyway! Unless your answer is "it makes no difference at all" then I'd beg to differ after my many attempts at many so called solutions to how to peel a boiled egg!

The 20 minute steaming technique works for me. I haven't encountered the "peeling them later" problem. I do plunge them into cold water but that is because I once read that chilling them quickly will help prevent the gray-green ring around the yolk. I'm not sure that's actually true but I do it anyway out of habit. I think Linda C posted that it is due to over cooking.

I used to cover the eggs with a couple of inches of water. Bring the water just to a bubble and then remove the pot from the heat and cover it for 15 minutes. And a cold water plunge to stop the cooking. This yields a fully cooked but still tender egg.

Try this. Crack both ends of the cooked egg. Put it in cold water for a bit. Then roll the egg between your hands. Start peeling from the ends.

I believe there is an air pocket in one of the ends. Unless I just made this up. Nope, it works for me.

Put in the eggs, add water to the basin, flip the switch, and wait for the buzzer. Throw the cooked eggs in a bowl to crack and cover with cold water.

Here is a link that might be useful: egg cooker

Funny this would come up. I was just commenting on how my eggs are peeling so well.

First these are eggs from my hens so are very fresh. I just boil them normally. When done, I drain off hot water and run the pan full of our very cold well water. I immediately crack all eggs against the side of the sink, rotating it so tops bottoms and sides are cracked well.

Then I peel under running water or just dip into the cold water in the pan sometimes. The shells mostly come off like peeling an orange only easier.

This works for me.

gldno1, your eggs peel easily because you are using your own yard eggs. I believe this problem has started because of the diet of the hens raised in these egg farms. The eggs never used to do this until, oh probably, the last 6 or so years. I remember first noticing it some time ago, where as before eggs didn't do this. The membrane between the shell and the white adheres itself to the white and tears the white to pieces. I'm going to guess that the people that have no problem are getting eggs from a source that is not feeding the hens whatever it is that's causing this issue...whether it's diet or it's medications...I don't know?

Why can't we all agree that what works for one, may not work for the other? I had problems peeling eggs until Lars mentioned steaming them. It's not a foreign idea. If it works and solves a problem, fine. If you don't need to steam the eggs, that's fine too. Most of us have to buy eggs at the grocery store--we don't know what those poor hens have been fed and we don't know how old the eggs are--we just have to deal with them.

Well I really don't care if you think you know the answer to your experiment because I've tried the OL' put them in a bath of ice water(which is supposed to be the answer) with ZERO results...thanks anyway!

Arkansas girl, that is exactly my point. (Are you feeling a little crabby? I'm sorry you don't like to experiment. It's no fun though when you think you already know the answer, is it?) I am not surprised you had ZERO results with that method. If you will read what I wrote above, you will see I mentioned that cold water causes the membrane to constrict and attach more tightly to the shell. (That means using ice water or leaving the eggs in the fridge before peeling them.) When you go outside and it's cold, you don't expand do you? Most people would hang tightly to their coats. It could be the hens diet, but I prefer to think it's more scientific and simple than that.

Yes, steaming does work. Thanks to Lars, it's what I do now, as it works for me almost every time. As a person who also raised chickens, had farm fresh eggs and now has to buy them from the store, I've tried it all. Believe me, I've experimented with everything from piecing the shells, turning the eggs, ice water, cold water, cool water, fresh eggs, old eggs. (But then I like a good experiment.) The only thing I haven't done is use a square egg cuber!

Yes, it helps to crack the egg starting with the large end, which is where the air pocket is. (Some might argue perhaps one also needs to hold their mouth right, and sing a particular song.) The cool water is only a vehicle to cool the egg long enough to be able to handle it, nothing more. I don't have any more trouble peeling an egg as long as it's somewhat warm while I'm doing it. Gldno1 is onto a good egg peeling technique!

Egg peeling seems to be a contentious subject. I suppose that's why there have been so many attempts to figure it all out, and there are so many theories about it. Yes, losing half an egg in the process can definitely make a person crabby.

What me crabby? HA! I'm just so happy I can finally make an attractive deviled egg again! Maybe I can start adding that to my low carb diet! YIPPEE!!!!

It's easy to experiment with the water peeling method. Peel some eggs dry. If you have a problem try adding the water and see if it helps. It does for me. I think water breaks the adhesion between the membrane and the egg white.

For cooking, I use the method where you bring the eggs just to boiling, turn off the heat and let them sit, covered, for 15 minutes.

Jim

Yes jimster, that is the method I USED TO use but will never again use. This is how Betty Crocker's old(1981) cookbook taught me how to cook boiled eggs. So you really think that running a bit of water on an egg while you are peeling helps do something...HAHAHA???? Crabby? NOT ME???? I mean really and seriously, do you actually think that we have NEVER tried peeling an egg under running water? Seriously? Sheesh...HAHAHA! Steaming is the only way I'll ever make hard "boiled" eggs ever again!

Good for you! Glad you found a hint that makes life a bit easier. Hey, just ignore the comments. I do believe they are baiting you! I always steam my eggs now, even if they are fresh from the store. Before that, I'd let them age a week and then try. The results were a disaster, just like yours.

Hey Arkansas Girl, if it works for you then do it and don't worry what someone else thinks you should do. You have found your answer just like others have found theirs and it "ain't" the same for everyone.

Beverly

Just to clarify, my post was not intended to tell anyone what to do. It doesn't bother me if someone else cooks or peels an egg differently than I do. I merely reported what works for me. I think that is appropriate behavior on this forum. I thought someone might be interested.

Jim

The difference between homegrown eggs and store eggs....

Our chickens aren't laying many now and I have had to buy "store" eggs. I told my husband with all the latest technology and nutrition info, wouldn't you think they would come up with a feed for confined chickens that would make the yolks as dark and my eggs.....I know it could be done.

I even tried to buy some eggs at my local health food store that claimed they were "yard eggs" but when I cracked them to fry them, they were just as pale yellow as any egg that I'd gotten in a grocery store and tasted no different. I kind of think this shell sticking to the egg all started once I moved to NE Ohio because I don't remember ever having the problem before. Back to the so called yard eggs, I don't think these hens are feeding as a person's hens that are allowed to peck around all day in the yard and eat bugs and things, otherwise they would have been dark yellow/orange. I didn't attempt to boil those though so I don't know if there was a difference.

The colour of the yolk is determined by what the chicken is fed. Not every farmer feeds the same grain mix. So even a free range or "Yard" bird could lay light coloured yolks.

I have a number of farms in the area where I can buy farm fresh eggs. And the yolk colour varies from one farm to the next.

Ann

I wonder if frost free refrigerators are drying out the eggs & making the membranes sticky resulting in hard to peel boiled eggs? Maybe submerging the eggs in water for 24 hours or so prior to cooking might help?

"I wonder if frost free refrigerators are drying out the eggs & making the membranes sticky resulting in hard to peel boiled eggs?"

That makes a lot of sense. Perhaps steam cooking is one solution to that, which would be a reason for the success some folks have with it. Just a guess.

Jim

I've only even owned frost free refrigerators. I think they have been around longer than I've been keeping house. I even wondered if it could be something in our city water up here? There is definitely something that's causing some people to have issues while others are unaware of any problems, and like I've said already, I have been cooking them and peeling them in the same manner as always. Heck, I used to be able to cook them, forget about them for a few hours and still be able to peel the egg without problems. I guess because deviled eggs were always a favorite in my house and with this problem I just stopped making them and that is why this was really bugging the heck out of me.

I've had major egg-peeling problems in the past, too. And I always like to devil a dozen eggs anytime I need to take a dish somewhere. DH isn't supposed to eat them and I could eat a whole dozen so it's just safer to take them to a gathering where I'll have some help eating them.

So we were invited to a New Years Day dinner. Friday afternoon I put a dozen eggs to soak in water overnight and the next morning I steam cooked them. Left them to cool (no cold water baths, etc.) and peeled them when they were only the least bit warm. They peeled nicely--no ragged whites. Didn't exactly jump out of the shells but I was plenty satisfied.

Next time, if I think of it, I'll try doing some controls. Just cook a few in boiling water, soak a few & steam them, and just steam some without a soak...all out of the same carton.

If they are a week or so old I boil, cold water submerse and peel. If they are new I steam.

To me it's a matter of how fresh the eggs are that cause the peeling problem.

Works for me ......do what works for you.

I think I may just have to make some deviled eggs tonite! Yall got me hungry for them! I'll also have to try the steam technique. I've had nothing but problems peeling the last few years, and I can't seem to remember such troubles in the past. A random comment as to yolk color: A friend's mother was born and raised in a small village outside Milan... says that they refer to the yolk as "rosa". A local custom includes adding mace to chicken feed, thus imparting a rosey color. My grandfather did experiments for Perdue in the 60's that included adding dried marigold petals to the feed in attempt to impart a more yellow/orange color.