Post
by Chuckwagon » Fri May 18, 2012 06:14
Hi Guys,
Have you ever been frustrated when peeling hard-boiled eggs? There`s a great way to calm your nerves and peel egg shells from eggs in large pieces! Several years ago, I called the American Egg Institute and asked them about peeling them. They told me all sorts of things about eggs. Here`s what they said about peeling them:
"Fresh eggs are wonderful in the frying pan or in recipes, but if you are going to peel them, think about this; fresh eggs take up to three weeks to develop a thin layer of air beneath the membrane between the shell and the egg white, making them much easier to peel. The night before you cook eggs, place them on a counter top to return them to room temperature. In a pan, use just enough cold water to cover them. When they begin to boil, reduce the heat and barely simmer them five minutes only. Turn the heat completely off and cover the pot fifteen minutes. Place the cooked eggs into ice water and peel away. The shells will detach quickly in large pieces."
Did you know there is absolutely no difference of taste or nutritional value in white or brown eggs. The breed of the hen that laid them determines the color of their shells. If you want to know if an egg is fresh enough to use, place it into a bowl of water. A fresh egg will lie on its side. If it is not fresh, it will stand straight up and float. How do you know if an egg has already been cooked inside its shell? Spin it around on the countertop. A cooked egg will spin quickly and evenly. A raw egg will wobble slowly.
So, don't "hard-boil" eggs! Cook them gently. Ever wonder where those green circles around the yolks come from? Iron in the yolks reacts with sulfur in the whites to produce ferrous sulfide. Prolonged heating is not necessary and high heat will only shrink and toughen egg whites and discolor their yolks. When eggs start to boil, reduce the heat to barely simmer them - three minutes only.
Since speaking with the AEI, for easy peeling, I`ve used only eggs that have had time to develop the thin layer of air beneath the membrane. What a difference! I`ve also learned to turn the heat completely off and cover the pot fifteen minutes while they finish cooking in the hot water. Following a cold bath in ice water, they are easy to peel.
Here are a few other egg tidbits: Eggs kept at room temperature, blend more readily with other foods than those refrigerated, and will store safely on the counter top for two weeks. Eggs do not particularly blend easily with milk. Try using water making an omelet and don't salt it until it`s cooked as salt toughens raw eggs. Do you want light and fluffy scrambled eggs? Take a tip from professional breakfast cooks in good diners... whip them into froth inside a malt machine, blender, or hand blender before they hit the griddle. Dress up scrambled eggs with a drop of liquid smoke added to the butter in the pan. Finish `em with chopped green onion. To turn a frying egg with no problems at all, use a spatula brushed or sprayed with oil.
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! 
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