[dharper79]

Hi, All. I am a newbie who needs your help. I just recently moved to Denver. Before that, I could AT LEAST boil an egg with no problem. Now???? The shell of my boiled eggs are sticking to the whites making it almost impossible to peel.

What am I doing wrong? Please help.

Thanks!

[kuan]

Use older eggs. That just means your eggs are really fresh.

Anyway try running them under cold water when you pull them out of the water.

[Luc_H]

I heard what Kuan said about fresh eggs being harder to peel.

here is another thing to try: (i tried it once only and it worked)

Cool the hard boiled egg completely (or take from the refrigerator)
Nuke it for 15 sec (not more!!)
Peel under water (in a bowl of cool water)

I tried this once because I made up a dozen eggs and when two in a row were giving me a hard time, I tried this trick. It worked then.

Luc H.

[AllanMcPherson]

Mom's old "couple of drops" of vinegar in the boiling water will help too.

--AL

[shel]

Buy grade A eggs rather than AA eggs. Grade AA are fresher and harder to peel ... other suggestions that have been posted may also be useful.

shel

[Suzanne]

Also: it may not be the eggs themselves, or the way you're cooking them. It could be the way you're cooling them before peeling. I find that when I cool my hard-cooked eggs thoroughly before peeling them, AND especially if I crack the shells and cool them in water, the shells and inner membrane come off pretty easily.

[stir it up]

I agree that it is because the eggs are fresher. Old eggs which is the norm for many eggs from the store peel easily.

Another tip in addition to the vinegar, or letting them cool or dry out before peeling, is to boil with potatoes in the water. Never tried it but I am told that it helps too.

Or you could just age your eggs a little if you need that easy-to-peel surface. I'd rather have them fresh and work with it myself. Start at the wide end, that may help a bit too.

If you want to tell how old your eggs are before you boil them, you can submerge them in cold water and see if they point upward at all. Fresh eggs will sit horizontal on the bottom, older eggs will start to point upward. If they actually float they should be thrown out.

[jigz369]

Originally Posted by kuan

Use older eggs. That just means your eggs are really fresh.

Anyway try running them under cold water when you pull them out of the water.

I'm in agreement with Kuan, fresh eggs are nasty to peel. Other than the cold water, I would also suggest cracking the shells when the eggs are in the water.
Just my opinion though....

[cinnamon]

Just add salt to the water and then coll in iced water.
U shouldn't have any problem

[girdhar]

i agree that it is easy to peel off the older eggs compared to fresh one.if one try to peel off the eggs as soon as you remove it from boiling water and put it into cold water this would create temperature difference and one can easily peel off the eggs even at higher altitude. it really works.