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Life is too short to eat bad food! Sharing great recipes, farm life, stories and photography from our Northern California dairy farm.

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April 20, 2011

How To Boil Eggs The Easy Way

Easter's right around the corner and it's time to boil those eggs!  I don't know about you, but when I used to boil eggs, they would crack and the inside would have that ugly greenish rim around it. And I never knew exactly how long to cook them. 

After a little research on the matter at hand, last Easter, I found a sure-fire way to hard boil, actually, hard cook eggs.  They turn out perfect every time.

And, if you're like me, you've had questions regarding the safety of eating dyed, hard cooked Easter eggs...do you eat them, do you toss them?  I found some answers.





1. PLACE eggs in a pot with one inch of water covering the tops of them.  Cook on medium high heat and wait until water has just begun to boil.


2. REMOVE from burner. COVER pan. LET EGGS STAND in hot water about 15 minutes for large eggs (12 minutes for medium eggs; 18 minutes for extra large).




3. DRAIN immediately and serve. OR, cool completely under cold running water or in bowl of ice water, then REFRIGERATE.


Tips

Hard-cooked, not hard-boiled.
 Even though the cooking water must come to a full boil in this method, the pan is immediately removed from the heat so that the eggs cook gently in the hot water. This leaves your eggs tender, not rubbery,  and minimizes cracking.

Banish the greenish ring. This harmless but ugly discoloration that sometimes forms around hard-cooked yolks results from a reaction between sulfur in the egg white and iron in the yolk. It the result when eggs have been cooked for too long or at too high a temperature. Following the steps above will minimize this.
What Makes Hard-Cooked Eggs Hard to Peel? The fresher the egg, the more difficult it is to peel after hard cooking. That's because the air cell, found at the large end of the shell between the shell membranes, increases in size the longer the raw egg is stored. As the contents of the egg contracts and the air cell enlarges, the shell becomes easier to peel. Because of this, older eggs make better candidates for hard cooking.




Safety Tips on eating hard cooked, dyed eggs.
Dyeing eggs: After hard cooking eggs, dye them and return them to the refrigerator within 2 hours. If eggs are to be eaten, use a food-safe coloring.

Blowing out eggshells: Because some raw eggs may contain Salmonella, be extra careful when blowing out the contents to hollow out the shell for decorating, such as for Ukrainian Easter eggs. Use only eggs that have been kept refrigerated and are uncracked. To destroy bacteria that may be present on the surface of the egg, wash the egg in hot water and then rinse in a solution of 1 teaspoon liquid chlorine bleach per half cup of water. After blowing out the egg, refrigerate the contents and use within 2 to 4 days.


Egg Hunting:  If the shells crack on your hard cooked egg, bacteria could contaminate the inside. Eggs should be hidden in places that are protected from dirt, pets, and other sources of bacteria. The total time for hiding and hunting eggs should not go beyond 2 hours. The "found" eggs must be re-refrigerated and eaten within 7 days of cooking.


Do you have any special egg dyeing ideas or tips?
egg boiling photos from Google image
I'll be in the Gold Country with Bryce and his one-room school, on an overnight field trrip over next two days..........sleeping in a tent.  I have some great Easter dessert recipes lined up for you to check out the next two nights!  Enjoy!

I love to hear from you! Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to leave a comment, you can click on the “Post a Comment” link below to do so. Have a peaceful day.

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13 comments:

Dawn said...

Well thank you for this information! We're decorating on Friday and I ALWAYS boil mine too long:)

Michelle said...

I have used this technique before and it really does cook the eggs well. My daughter likes to take an egg and make designs on it with a white crayon. Then she dips them in the dye, creating a relief type of design.

Liesl said...

Those eggs look good enough to eat! 'xuse the pun!

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

Boiled eggs is something we have a lot of around here. All 3 of my boys love them for snacks. And that's exactly the way I cook mine up! We haven't dyed any yet, but maybe this weekend.

Leontien said...

Great tips!
Thanks for sharing, gonna boil me some eggs tonight...

Leontien

Misty DawnS said...

I miss coloring eggs for Easter. It was so much fun!

Jessica said...

My tip: When hard cooked/boiled eggs are difficult to peel (ripping the egg apart as you take off the shell) it is also because they are over cooked. Putting them into an ice bath or running cold water over them after the cooking process prevents this problem. :)

LCitarella said...

You have a great blog. Last year we decorated brown eggs instead of white, and they looked incredible. They were more jewel toned in stead of bright or pastel.

bon bon said...

growing up, we had a dog that was vegetarian! it would not eat meat. so, we made it boiled eggs every day. for 17 years! boy, would that dog fart...ha!

thanks for bringing that memory to mind. ;o)

Linda said...

Thanks for the tips......I finally realized (after 35 years of marriage) NOT to use fresh eggs to hard boil;)

City Life to Ranching Wife said...

I learned of this way to boil an egg last year and it's so easy!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the info. Always wondered.

Vintage silver rings said...

Thanks for tips !! You really shared very good tips with me. I will surely try it. This is really new things to me for learning :))