That occurs due to a reaction between the sulfur in the egg white and the iron in the yolk when you’ve cooked your eggs too long or at too high a temperature. : mikhaylovskiy How do I avoid that hideous green ring in my hard-cooked eggs?Īh, the gruesome green ring that circles the yolk. The visual chart below gives you a great place to start for large eggs directly from the fridge. Keep in mind that the size, temperature, and number of eggs will affect cooking time. The One likes them more cooked, so I cook his 10 to 12 minutes. I like my eggs with a bit of creaminess to the yolk, so I steam them for 8 minutes. Steaming eggs is similar to boiling eggs in terms of timing and results. (I find I don’t need to peel under running water.) When the eggs are cool enough to handle, peel them.Immediately dunk the eggs in an ice bath.Carefully nestle large eggs directly from the fridge into the steamer insert.Place a steamer insert into a saucepan and add an inch or so of water.By steaming eggs, the water vapor permeates the shell and helps to loosen the white quickly from the membrane. I first heard of the concept of steaming eggs a few years ago from Jeff Potter, author of Cooking for Geeks. Why should I steam rather than boil my eggs? Not exactly the best look on the buffet table. And that’s why you get googly-eyed deviled eggs. The problem with that is the whites in older eggs tend to thin a bit over time, allowing the yolk to wander off center. The solution many cooks swear by (not me, though) is to use older eggs. The reason it clings so ferociously to the egg white is the pH level of an egg white is naturally more acidic and that acidity acts as a glue, binding white to membrane, especially in fresh eggs. It’s that thin, papery covering you curse at when you’re having a bitch of a time peeling eggs. I’m not a food science guy, but the basic idea is that there’s a membrane just below the eggshell. Why are hard-boiled eggs so hard to peel? Needless to say, I ate far more than my share of egg salad in the name of screwups. I even let them sit in the fridge overnight before peeling. I gave shocking the eggs in ice water a twirl. (Most cracked.) I simmered the water instead of boiling it. (Not necessarily.) I attempted adding the eggs to the water and then bringing it up to a boil.

I let dozens of eggs languish in the fridge because “gentle-aged” eggs are supposedly easier to peel. And, if I’m honest, I think my eggs were as terrified of me as I was of them. I was pulling off a quarter inch of egg white in the name of peeling off the shells. “Do your deviled eggs look more bedeviled than egg? Do you gouge your hard-boiled eggs every time you try to peel them?!” I felt like I was caught in some surreal infomercial nightmare: “Are you tired of egg acne?” I heard an overly testosteroned voice in my head ask me.

Easy way to crack eggs