The Lemon Fool

We boiled a couple of these eggs in water, salt and vinegar but when we came to remove the shells the brown colouring came off. This meant that the deshelled eggs needed washing to remove specks of paint.

I didn,t know that even eggs have succumbed to E-numbers!

that's what vinegar does
https://www.ossiconesoxygen.com/2020/04 ... shell.html

For unshelled eggs, why salt and vinegar? I'm curious, never done that.

It stops the eggs cracking and the innards spewing out into the water.

feder1 wrote:It stops the eggs cracking and the innards spewing out into the water.

We balance our eggs on old wheel nuts so they steam rather than being immersed. Seems to avoid the cracking most of the time.
Usual timing, which for us is 4 mins 15 secs.

V8

...Or you could just pre-flush them with hot water before boiling. That can also stop them from cracking during cooking.

.

i microwave mine , 5/6 mins on lowest power , in water or olive oil .

feder1 wrote:It stops the eggs cracking and the innards spewing out into the water.

???

How?

john

Just start them off in cold water under cover and cook very gently 3.5 mins.

john

johnstevens77 wrote:Just start them off in cold water under cover and cook very gently 3.5 mins.

john

Yep. We discovered 40 years ago that eggs tend to crack if you put them into hot water. We just put them in the water, turn on the gas and come back in 5 minutes.

Steve

PS To be honest, I don't give a monkey's about cracked eggs, but my wife is like Sybil Fawlty on steroids, so I just nod and agree.

Who'd have thought there was so much to it.
https://www.wikihow.com/Cook-Hard-Boile ... t-Cracking

kempiejon wrote:Who'd have thought there was so much to it.
https://www.wikihow.com/Cook-Hard-Boile ... t-Cracking

I am frankly amazed that my mother and grandmother were able, using just a wood- and coal-fired range, to boil an egg. That link has given me a whole new respect for their culinary genius in the face of adversity. And to do it without cracking a single egg in the 50-plus years that I've seen them do it? Colour me flabbergasted.

kempiejon wrote:Who'd have thought there was so much to it.
https://www.wikihow.com/Cook-Hard-Boile ... t-Cracking

I think that the most important thing is to have them at room temperature and use cold water.
We never keep eggs in the fridge and never did at work.

john

bluedonkey wrote:For unshelled eggs, why salt and vinegar? I'm curious, never done that.

...Because they're confusing it with the method of cooking poached eggs. Or, at least the vinegar aspect...

DiamondEcho wrote:

bluedonkey wrote:For unshelled eggs, why salt and vinegar? I'm curious, never done that.

...Because they're confusing it with the method of cooking poached eggs. Or, at least the vinegar aspect...

Not quite. Vinegar dissolves egg shell, but in small concentrations it can soften it. This it should reduce cracking.

There is an old magic trick where you soak an egg in dilute vinegar, squeeze it through the neck of a milk bottle (remember them?) and then replace with water/baking powder solution so the shell hardens again, then let it dry out. A bit of sleight of hand and a quick swap and Hey Presto!

Paul

A far simpler and quicker solution to stop eggs cracking is to prick a small hole in the base of the egg.

I do this every time, and the eggs can then be put straight into boiling water, which is much faster than putting them in cold water and heating it up. So far I've never had one crack.

Clitheroekid wrote:A far simpler and quicker solution to stop eggs cracking is to prick a small hole in the base of the egg.

I do this every time, and the eggs can then be put straight into boiling water, which is much faster than putting them in cold water and heating it up. So far I've never had one crack.

many moons ago someone bought me a kitchen gadget for pricking the shells of eggs before boiling. Might have used it a couple of time before conseigning it to the back of drawer. I see amazon have the sort of thing https://www.amazon.co.uk/Apofly-Piercer ... f=pd_lpo_1?
About this item
Egg Piercer makes eggs cooking be more easier
Egg punch is mainly made of safe and durable ABS material for a long service life
Egg Hole Puncher can Make a small hole in the egg to prevent the shell from cracking when boiling
Boiled Egg Piercer can keep the eggshell intact, and with adding half the rice and half the water, you can cook delicious eggshell rice
Egg Pricker has Spring retractable design, no hand injury for older children and is easy to operate and use

kempiejon wrote:[
Boiled Egg Piercer can keep the eggshell intact, and with adding half the rice and half the water, you can cook delicious eggshell rice

Mmmm... just cant wait!

Clitheroekid wrote:A far simpler and quicker solution to stop eggs cracking is to prick a small hole in the base of the egg.

I do this every time, and the eggs can then be put straight into boiling water, which is much faster than putting them in cold water and heating it up. So far I've never had one crack.

Agree, this is what I do. You need to make a small hole in the blunt end of the egg. I used to use one prong of a fork, and grind it a little.

James wrote:

kempiejon wrote:Who'd have thought there was so much to it.
https://www.wikihow.com/Cook-Hard-Boile ... t-Cracking

I am frankly amazed that my mother and grandmother were able, using just a wood- and coal-fired range, to boil an egg. That link has given me a whole new respect for their culinary genius in the face of adversity. And to do it without cracking a single egg in the 50-plus years that I've seen them do it? Colour me flabbergasted.

I do not think with the greatest respect that your mother or grandmother were necessarily genius cooks, at least not from the evidence presented so far. They probably started the eggs off in cold water and gently boiled them, and in your grandmother's case at least, from room temperature. There is a lot of stuff we keep in fridges which do not need to be kept there, eggs being one of them.

Recently I was chatting to my mature adult daughter about keeping food in 'the old days' pre fridges. I must be getting old.

Dod