boiling eggs ahead of time

DanielleDavids

A trick my grandma taught me is to add 1/4 c. of vinegar and some salt to the water. She swore it made them easier to peel and stopped any egg from leaking out if one of the shells happened to get a crack. You don't taste it, but I'm convinced it works!

gridder

I wouldn't put them back in the carton unless you sterilize it somehow. . . salmonella is carried on the shell.

rileymama

I peel mine when I eat them.

Me too!

MaryD4900

I wouldn't put them back in the carton unless you sterilize it somehow. . . salmonella is carried on the shell.

Ugh, good point! I wondered about that last night as I placed my eggs back into the carton...lol

HauteP1nk

I keep them in the shells...and then bring them to work. Such easy protein for my lunch...grab and go!

davidherling

This is all absolutely correct, but 10 minutes should do the trick.

One other tip directly relating to leaving the eggs in their shell, yolks left in the shell tend to turn green. Someone said this is due to the sulfur that the shell traps inside but I don't know if that's true. It doesn't really effect the tste or quality, but if you want pretty yellow yolk it helps to cool the egg and peel the shell quickly.

realme56

I leave the shells on, seem easier to peel later.

Green on the yolks means they cooked too long.

kmjenkins

I usually keep them in the shell, but the other day I peeled one and put it in a ziploc in my lunchbox---found out it makes everything in there taste/smell like an egg, won't do that again, just a preference thing though I'm sure.

Anjoelina

I am 60 and JUST learned how to easily peel eggs, whether fresh or older. You 'punch' a tiny hole on the fatter end of the raw egg, very careful not to go in very deep, you just want to pierce the shell (they make egg piercers for this purpose). Gently place them in a pan of hard rolling boiling water. Keep them in for 15 minutes. Drain and use cold water to cool them down. AMAZING... can't believe it took this long to find out this jewel of information. Even the very thin membrane peels off with the shell!

Ideabaker

The key to hard boiled eggs is to use salt in the water. It makes the shells hard and they are much easier to peel. I also leave the peel on.

Thanks for this tip... I'll be trying it. I read on Pinterest that adding Baking Powder to the water makes them easier to peel, but I have had no luck with that method. I boil up six to eight eggs at a time, and leave them in the shell in a ziptop baggie in the door of the fridge so they don't get mixed up with my raw eggs.

I've read that if you boil "older eggs" vs. fresher eggs, they are easier to peel, and that actually seems to be true in my experience.

janer4jc

I think either way is fine....more of a preference thing I suppose :-)

Agree. I prefer to peel them right away but when I'm short on time I just toss them in the fridge.

helenmelon29

I keep them in the shells until ready to eat

Me too!

Me too

WalkingAlong

I am 60 and JUST learned how to easily peel eggs, whether fresh or older. You 'punch' a tiny hole on the fatter end of the raw egg, very careful not to go in very deep, you just want to pierce the shell (they make egg piercers for this purpose). Gently place them in a pan of hard rolling boiling water. Keep them in for 15 minutes. Drain and use cold water to cool them down. AMAZING... can't believe it took this long to find out this jewel of information. Even the very thin membrane peels off with the shell!

Doesn't the egg white seep out of the hole into the water? I have an egg piercer, I'll try it someday.

I use a similar method but 13 minutes and no hole, no cold bath, and the shell sloughs off in one piece under running water, usually. I first roll it to crack the shell all around, then stick it under the water to slip the shell off.

I know this 'store peeled or not' question is 18 months old, but I store them unpeeled. Costco and other industrial food places sell boiled, peeled eggs in containers floating in greenish water that reminds me of formaldehyde. Yuck.

fruttibiscotti

What do you value most? Time efficiency or sturdiness of egg? If time efficiency is your answer, peel eggs soon after they are boiled. Otherwise, to have a more sturdy egg for packing and hauling around, peel only when ready to eat.

girlinahat

Depends how many I'm doing but generally I find they get a bit dry on the outside if I store them peeled.

I plunge straight into cold water as I was told that helps prevent the yolks from turning black

to remove the shell - tap the egg all over on a hard surface, then roll it around with gentle pressure. the pressure squeezes the egg away from the shell and you 'should' be able to just ping the shell off with the membrane.