Preparing the perfect boiled egg is not rocket science, bit it does require a bit of chemistry and practice! Here’s how to avoid the green ring on boiled eggs and ensure they are easy to peel. If you’re making deviled eggs or classic egg salad, you’ll want to take note of these hard-boiled egg tips!
How to Boil Eggs
The perfect hard-boiled egg is true white, without a gray-green ring, and has a fluffy yellow yolk, and takes about 14 minutes to cook. Soft-boiled eggs cook in about 8 minutes, so depending upon how soft or hard you want your boiled egg, the actual cooking time varies from 8 – 14 minutes. Believe it or not, the Perfect Boiled Egg is not actually hard-boiled–it’s simmered or steamed. There are three basic methods for preparing boiled eggs:
- Two Hot Start Methods
- A Cold Start Method
After many years of experimenting with these three methods, I find the Cold Start method the most reliable. The hot start methods seem to vary when cooked on an electric stove, but were consistently successful on a gas stove. If you’re unsure as to which method to use, I recommend the Cold Start Method.
Hot Start Methods for Preparing the Perfect Boiled Egg
Method 1: Simmering
- Remove eggs from refrigerator and allow to sit for 15 minutes to avoid cracking
- Bring water to boil
- Add eggs to water
- Turn down heat to simmering (where a few bubbles form on the bottom and rise gently, but barely get to the surface) NOTE: this works great on a gas stove, but when using an electric stove, gently lift the pan above the burner, turn it to simmer temperature, wait a few seconds then return pan to stove.
- Simmer eggs uncovered 10-14 minutes
- Place boiled eggs in a cold ice-water bath for 10 minutes
Method 2: Steaming
- Remove eggs from refrigerator and allow to sit for 15 minutes to avoid cracking
- Bring water to boil
- Add eggs to water
- Once the eggs are submerged in the boiling water, place a lid on the pan
- Remove pan from heat, and allow to stand for 17-20 minutes
- Place boiled eggs in a cold ice-water bath for 10 minutes
Cold Start Method
- Place eggs in a pan with enough cold water to cover them by about one inch
- Bring water to boil
- Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer for 14 minutes, uncovered
- Place eggs in cold ice water bath for 10 minutes
Regardless of the method used, the most important thing to do to produce the perfect boiled egg is to submerge them in icy cold water after they’ve simmered. This stops the cooking process and prevents the ugly greenish-gray ring around the yolk.
Why is there a Gray-Green Ring on my Boiled Eggs?
The nasty green ring is caused by the reaction of hydrogen sulfide (from the egg white) with the iron from the yolk. A green ring will occur more often in older eggs or in eggs that are over cooked. Avoid the green ring by using eggs that are at least five days old and, once they’re boiled, immediately submerge them in an ice cold water bath for 10 minutes.
How to Peel Boiled Eggs
Often, the egg shell sticks to the egg; this is due to the shell membrane that is between the shell and the egg. If the egg is too fresh, this thin, almost transluscent coating sticks to the egg–not the shell, making it really hard to get a smooth peeled egg.
I’ve found peeling a hard-boiled egg under a light stream of cold water helps release the shell membrane from the egg and results in a smoother egg surface. You can eliminate a lot of frustration by knowing the freshness of the egg.
How to Get The Yolk Out of a Boiled Egg
A hard-boiled egg will have a light-yellow, fluffy yolk and an easy way to get the yolk out is to slightly bend the egg white and use the edge of a spoon to loosen the yolk…just a nudge with the spoon edge and the yolk falls right out! Now you’re ready to make deviled eggs!
How to Determine Egg Freshness
Another important facet to preparing perfect boiled eggs is the freshness of the egg. There a couple of ways to determine egg freshness; however, you’ll want to buy eggs that are at least five days old…why? Read on….
Julian Date
On the end of each egg carton are three-digit numbers called the Julian date. These numbers range from 001-365, representing the days of the year with January 1 being 001 and December 31 being 365. Additionally, these numbers represent the day the eggs were packed. For eggs packed on March 28th, the Julian date would be 087. (Additional numbers on the egg carton represent the egg manufacturers plant identification.)
When you buy eggs, check the Julian date and select a carton that has eggs at least five days old. Very fresh eggs (under five days old) are more difficult to peel when boiled because the shell membrane is still very intact with the shell.
Does it Float?
Another way to determine freshness is to place the egg in water. Fresh eggs will sink and stand more upright because their air sac is small. Old eggs will float. The floating is due to the increased air sac that forms internally at the top of the egg once it is laid. Once an egg is laid, there is no air sac. However, the air sac begins to develop as the egg ages and a gap develops between the shell and the egg membranes. The air sac is formed and enlarges as the egg ages due to the loss of carbon dioxide and moisture.
Does it Spread Out?
If you need to test an egg from the carton, use this technique to determine freshness. Crack an egg onto a plate; a fresh egg will produce a yolk that is centered, stands up in a rounded form and has a large proportion of thick white around the yolk. If the egg spreads out on a plate with an off-center yolk and a lot of clear, thin yolk white yolk it is an old egg.
Grade AA? A? Jumbo? Large? Regular?
This is always an interesting choice at the grocery… what size and grade do I buy? Eggs are graded as U.S. AA, A or B, according to USDA standards, however, the grading of eggs does not take into account weight or shell color. Egg grading is conducted by a process called “egg candling” where eggs are “X-ray’d” and given a grade based upon the results. Some factors taken into consideration when egg candling are:
- Air Sac depth
- Albumen thickness
- Yolk slightly defined
- Spots in eggs
Without going into the complex world of egg candling, let’s just agree that Grades AA are near perfect eggs, ideal for making the perfect boiled egg. Grade A are good and Grade B are generally used for commercial uses such as egg powders, etc.
The size of the eggs, whether it be jumbo, large or regular is based upon the weight of eggs per dozen and are sorted into six weight groups:
- Jumbo- minimum 30 oz. per dozen
- Extra Large- minimum 27 oz. per dozen
- Large-minimum 24 oz. per dozen
- Medium-minimum 21 oz. per dozen
- Small-minimum of 18 oz. per dozen
- Pewee-minimum 15 oz. per dozen
When a recipe calls for an egg, it is usually based on large sized eggs.
Egg Storage
Store eggs in their original carton on a shelf and not in the egg bin on the door! If you store them in the egg bin, it allows air to flow around the eggs and facilitates the loss of carbon dioxide and moisture, making the eggs age faster.
Store eggs in their cartons at 40° F or below and never rinse an egg. Rinsing permeates the protective shell, allowing gases to escape, thus the egg ages faster. An egg at room temperature will age more in one day than in one week in the refrigerator. Generally, eggs that are 3-5 weeks old are safe to use in foods.
Egg Fun Facts
- The color of the egg shell is determined by the breed of the hen. Hen’s with white feathers produce white eggs; hens with red feathers produce brown eggs.
- It is not possible to determine the vitamin content of vitamin A in an egg based on color because the pigments in the shell are not precursors for vitamin A.
- The color of the yolk is based upon what is fed to the hens.
- The albumen, or white of an egg, accounts for about 58% of the eggs total weight and offers 11% protein.
- The yolk accounts for about 30% of the eggs total weight, contains 33% of the egg’s fat, 17% of the protein and 48% of the water in an egg.
Deviled Eggs
Ingredients
- 1 dozen large eggs
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 3 T yellow mustard
- 2 T relish sweet or dill, drained
- ½ teaspoon white vinegar
- ½ T minced raw onion not dried
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Hard boil eggs (see The Perfect Boiled Egg)
- Cool and peel eggs; slice eggs in half lengthwise
- Remove yolks and place in bowl
- Add remaining ingredients and mix well; refrigerate mixture for about 10 minutes to avoid a runny yolk filling
- Scoop egg yolk mixture back into hard boiled egg whites
- Garnish with paprika and serve
Notes
- Deviled eggs are always nice to have at Thanksgiving and Easter, but we serve them at Christmas, too!
- Perfect for brunch!
Craving More? Try Classic Egg Salad!
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