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The Food Lab takes on Hard boiled eggs

9 years ago

A favorite subject here. Have we ever discussed the hot vs cold treatment?

Here is Kenji's take on boiled eggs, after lots of eggsperience.

Here is a link that might be useful: Food Lab's boiled eggs

Comments (8)

KatieC
9 years ago
I never thought I'd say an article on boiled eggs was a fun read, lol.

I think I learned about steaming eggs on here (?). I've steamed old storebought eggs and fresh 'real' eggs for 20 min. or so, then doused with cold water until cool enough to handle. They have all peeled beautifully as long as I peeled asap. So far, hehe.
plllog
9 years ago
Great article. Thanks for posting. I always wondered how they got the round bottomed eggs!
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This recipe is a T&T one, and everyone adores it. Well, almost everyone. DH doesn't because he doesn't like caviar. But try it...uses 4 hb eggs. Avocado and Caviar Pie I donÂt know who created this recipe, but I wish I could take credit for it! IÂve been making it ever since my days with Judith at the Chicago Caterers. It takes a few minutes to put together, and it costs a few pennies, but itÂ¹s a real crowd pleaser. Write more textures. Softness opulence what? Chef June Jacobs, C.C.P. Makes one 7-inch pie Ingredients: 1 package unflavored gelatin 1/4 cup cold water Egg Layer: 4 hard cooked eggs, chopped 1/2 cup homemade mayonnaise (see Basics) 1/4 cup chopped parsley 1 large green onion, chopped pinch of salt dash of hot pepper sauce pinch of white pepper Avocado Layer: 1 medium (9 oz) avocado/diced 1 medium (9 oz) avocado/pureed 1 large shallot, chopped 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2 tablespoons homemade mayonnaise 1/2 teaspoons salt dash of hot pepper sauce freshly ground black pepper Sour Cream & Onion Layer: 1 cup sour cream 1/4 cup chopped onion 4 ounces black, red or golden caviar (I donÂ¹t think IÂ¹d use Beluga for this, but almost anything else goes. Actually, I prefer salmon roe for its unctuousness.) Fresh lemon juice one thin slice lemon Pam a 7-inch springform pan. Soften gelatin in cold water in measuring cup. Liquefy gelatin by setting cup in pan of hot water or in microwave for about 20 seconds on low. Egg layer: Combine all ingredients with 1 TABLESPOONS of gelatin. Taste and adjust seasoning. Neatly spread egg mixture into prepared pan. Smooth top. Avocado layer: Combine all ingredients with 1 TABLESPOONS gelatin. Spread evenly over the egg layer. Sour cream layer: Mix with rest of gelatin. Spread over the avocado layer. Cover pan tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Just before serving, place caviar in fine sieve and rinse gently under cold water. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Drain. Spread evenly over sour cream. Garnish with a thin slice of lemon. Nancy
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hard boiled eggs again?
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I agree, plllog, there are old eggs and there are OLD eggs. Floating eggs doesn't necessarily mean they are spoiled, only that they are very old. If you want to crack one to see, go ahead, but if they're all floating around on top of the water, I'd pitch them instead. My eggs are more like today's eggs and last week's eggs, LOL. The ones at the grocery are already a month or so old by the time they get to the store, then they sit there until sold, then they sit in your refrigerator. Old eggs can be ancient given that time frame. There have been several studies and experiments done to determine how old is too old for an egg. Most found that an egg kept in the refrigerator for 6 months is still safe to eat, it's just not very good. The white gets runny, the yolk gets flat, it loses flavor. They seldom spoil, but they do dry out, according to my Ag Agent. And I leave fresh eggs, unwashed, sitting on the counter when I'm out of room in the refrigerator, and that's OK too. They'll age/spoil faster, they keep best when refrigerated, but leaving a dozen eggs on the counter overnight certainly won't cause them to spoil. Washing them, though, or leaving boiled eggs on the counter, that's a definitely problem. Washing eggs removes the protective coating that prevents contaminants from entering through the porous shell. I wash mine right before I use them. Annie
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Peeling Hard Boiled Eggs
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The biggest complaint about the "Eggies" that I've read is 4 parts per unit. Really, is that necessary? Anyway, you do need to spray them. I've seen a lot of complaints that they leak. I imagine you need to really crank them down to seal. Other things I've read and learned about eggs. First, NEVER boil them! People insist you need to boil eggs. It should only be a simmer. For a variety of reasons, including the boiling makes them jump around and crack which causes problems. And I use the method of bringing them to a simmer and shut off the heat and let the water cook them. Start running cold water into the hot and let it pour out and do a couple flushings with cold water then peel. I don't usually keep hard cooked eggs around but seldom have major trouble with shells. Vinegar might help but too much makes for a sulphur smell. Baking soda changes the pH and helps, and a little salt generally helps for the coagulation that the vinegar is supposed to assist. Peeling techniques vary too but I see so many people who insist on snapping off little pieces rather than actually peeling them. They bang away on the counter and break the shell into hundreds of pinhead size pieces and then complain that "it's hard to peel eggs!" Well DUH! Of *course* it will be when you do that! LOL Crack the egg, best to do it on the large end to use the air pocket to help you. Get a hold of the membrane - many try to leave it as part of the egg. Go slowly and let the suction release and as the air gets in there it always makes it easier for me. Trying to remove little bits and pieces of shell is a PITA. It takes a whisker of patience but I can usually remove the shell in 3-4 pieces. Easier peeling and easier cleanup too. There's a "On TV" gadget out there that is a big plunger thing that works much like the blowing of eggs. I guess if I'm eating the egg myself, to try blowing it isn't a big deal but I don't really like someone else spitting on my eggs. Though reviews of that haven't been the greatest either, it'd be a lot easier to clean than 4 pieces of "eggie" per egg! There's also arguments out there about cooking in plastic but I won't go into that. I usually can taste plastic from things but I might be more sensitive than others. All in personal preference. I don't really mind peeling eggs when they're cooked right, have good eggs for peeling and have a little luck. Seems like there's always one or two in there that are tough to peel no matter what you do. Also, if I just want some chopped egg in a salad or something, I usually don't simmer (never boil) them. I'll fry an egg and chop it up to add. Or even microwave it. Which reminds me, my sister and her boyfriend bought those microwave egg cookers. I use a little glass Pyrex dish.
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I have not seen this aspect discussed, but I think you can see it is worth considering. Fact #1 - Atmospheric pressure is 14.7 lbs per sq. in. Fact #2 - When two surface are pushed together, to pull apart, you will need to work against the 14.7 lbs/sq. in. force. That's how a suction cup works. You can use suction cups to lift very heavy loads or to climb a building. Fact #3 - to make a suction cup work better, you wet the cups a little. The water film prevents air from getting in between the two surface to equalize the atmospheric pressure. Fact #4 - If water between the two surfaces gets thicker, then the water becomes a lubricant and helps to release the two surfaces from air pressure. -------------------------------------- When you boil an egg, you can see tiny bubbles coming out from the egg shell, because the shell have many microscopic holes. Air expands and escape from these holes. When the air is cooled, air shrinks and draws water inside the egg thru the holes. The water will create the suction cup effect and atmospheric pressure of 14.7 lbs will push the membrane against the egg white. If enough water gets in between the membrane and egg white, then the water will help to counter act the air pressure and the membrane can slide off the white easier. That's how I can easily peel eggs and quail eggs to make deviled quail eggs, by using the laws of physics. dcarch
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sushipup1
Original Author
9 years ago
Did we ever discuss the idea of starting hot, not cold, and shocking afterwards, and completely cooking the eggs all to make for best peeling?

Kenji is always fun to read.
wintercat_gw
9 years ago
This morning I needed to boil 2 eggs for packed lunch for work. Having read the article, I decided to give it a try. Lowered 1 egg from fridge into boiling water - egg didn't crack. Lowered second - it cracked badly. Lowered 3rd - cracked. 4th - cracked (it's addictive like roulette). Since I had only 1 egg left in the fridge, I poured the boiling water down the sink, filled the pot with cold tap water and placed the partly cooked 1st egg and the precious 5th egg in the pot. Brought water slowly to a boil and... the 5th egg cracked as well.

What i usually do, with hardly any cracking, is put the refrigerated eggs in a pot of cold tap water, leave them for a couple of minutes and them turn on the gas - low flame - bring to boil, turn off the gas after a minute and leave the eggs for 15 minutes in the pot.

Sometimes the eggs peel easy, sometimes not, but at least one gets a hard boiled egg!
dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
9 years ago
"----Kenji is always fun to read.---"

I agree. Also you learn a lot because he is a MIT graduate.

But many times I have found very curious theories and suggestions, tests from him.

This is one of them.

If you dump cold eggs into boiling water, most of the time you will get burst eggs. Egg shells may be permeable, but the rapid expanding air inside from sudden heat will crack the shells.

For instance, if he experimented with a ton of eggs, I would like to find out first:

1. Are all the eggs the same? There are many different breeds of chickens. Are the eggs from old hens or young hens? Do different diets make different eggs?

2. What is sticking to the shells? the membrane or the egg white? or both?

When you have more than one variables in an experiment, but test only one, then you have an experiment which will give uninterpretable results.

dcarch

This post was edited by dcarch on Tue, May 20, 14 at 7:46
sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
9 years ago
Always entertaining reading intensive experiments crammed into a short amount of time with distractions...myth busters scenario. More patience is needed over a longer period of time?

My eggs have never been from the same 'farm'. I get em' when i thinks it. Always a local carton whatever organic free range means...
Some fresh from a friends backyard herd. Even Martha's pretty Arcana ones from a friend that works for her...

Pull out of the fridge for a while, put in room temp water, bring to simmer, let it go a few minutes, turn off heat, let sit 10-15, run under cold tap water...few minutes. Crack all over on p-towel on counter, peel under running water, eat. Cool the others in the fridge.
I always get about 95% easy-peel. But always nice yolk, no green edge.
Islay_Corbel
9 years ago
You can boil a cracked egg. I wouldn't throw an egg away just because it cracked in the water. It's fine to eat!
wintercat_gw
9 years ago
Of course. I've eaten many a cracked hard boiled egg, but then it does depend on how badly cracked the egg is. The 3 eggs I lowered into the boiling water were so badly cracked they were irredeemable. The 5th which cracked in the tap water I ended up eating. It was an OK cracked egg.

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