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This year I found my favorite hard boiled egg solution so far – and it’s simple! Put the eggs in a pan of cold water, bring to a rolling boil, remove from the burner, and let sit, covered for 15 minutes. Then (and this is important, if you want them to be easy to peel), transfer them to a bowl of cold water. I add ice to the bowl to keep the water cold – and take some of the water out as it warms up, adding more ice (hence the photo). Of course, I usually roll a few of the hot eggs in crayon shavings first, which makes them harder to peel, but very pretty! Want a mini science project for the kids? Have them watch closely as you transfer the eggs into the ice water – you can see the heat rising from the eggs in the water!
These eggs taste great, and are never green. My kids adore them – so much so that, the first time I made them this way, Emma actually cried because I wouldn’t let her have more than two for lunch!
If I ever need to make a LOT of hard boiled eggs, I’m definitely going to try baking my eggs as seen at Greetings from the Asylum (found this post via Our Nifty Notebook).
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I saw this on pinterest and I’m trying to decide if I want to do this……….
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maryanne Reply:
April 5th, 2012 at 9:18 am
Thanks, Ticia! I’ll watch for those emails – I think I’m subscribed.
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Interesting idea! I usually just shock them in cold water after they are done.
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My kids love hard boiled eggs too. They will easily eat two each when I make them.
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So glad you posted this! I didn’t realize about putting the eggs in cold water but I’ve heard about putting them in ice water after they’ve boiled.
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Awesome!
I have never made perfect boiled eggs…no one ever complains…but I am always winging it!
I am going to do this ….tomorrow….for our egg dying!
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I was just going to hunt for the perfect way to boil our Easter eggs after I finished my blog reading. Now I don’t have to! Thanks so much!
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I do this and my eggs turn out great, problem is I can never peel them. Sorry cold water, ice water, this water, that water, they always are all torn apart by the time I am able to peel them. That’s what I’m waiting for a hint on. :)
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maryanne Reply:
April 5th, 2012 at 6:01 pm
Do you have access to really fresh eggs?
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Rue Reply:
April 5th, 2012 at 10:12 pm
Probably not. I just get them from the store
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maryanne Reply:
April 7th, 2012 at 9:48 pm
Might not be much you can do about it, then, unfortunately. One reader suggested having the eggs play bumper cars right after shocking them with the cold water. Helpful if you’re making your eggs for egg salad, less useful if you plan to dye them.
maryanne Reply:
April 9th, 2012 at 1:20 pm
AND I just read an article yesterday that says OLDER eggs are better! They suggested adding baking soda, but tried that as an experiment and my eggs were if anything harder to peel. There seems to be a consensus that peeling sooner rather than later works best, but that doesn’t work too well if your kids are dying them for Easter!
Danielle Reply:
December 30th, 2012 at 9:44 pm
The trick to easy peel eggs is actually really easy…bring the water to a full boil first…then use a metal spoon to drop your eggs into the boiling water. That’s it! Then you can proceed with the ice water and such. Works even with your pesky peeling but yummy fresh eggs.
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MaryAnne Reply:
December 30th, 2012 at 10:45 pm
Thanks for the tip! How long do you boil them for?
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Anonymous Reply:
March 14th, 2013 at 9:12 pm
Older eggs peel much easier.
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I have also tried another pinterest method… after they are completely cool, pour off all but about 1/2-1″ of water then let the play bumper cars. It loosens the shells and they pretty much peel themselves. Make sure they are REALLY completely cool before attempting this.
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maryanne Reply:
April 5th, 2012 at 7:02 pm
Thanks for the tip!
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Yes, I have 10 dozen to bake tomorrow! We’ll see how the large batches go! I also put them in a cold/ice bath after baking them.
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I recently discovered a similar method that I have been using, but yours is a bit easier (the other involved 3min boiling and 8min sitting covered – it will be easier just to time 15min!). Sometimes I use ice and sometimes just cold water, but I usually peel them within around 10min of cooling, which works easiest for me. Most difficult is if I let them cool in their shells in the refrigerator.
The good thing is, the kids enjoy peeling their own eggs, which lets me have a few minutes peacefully eating my own lunch while they are occupied! :)
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Oh, and thanks for the link to the baked eggs – I had never heard of that but I am sure it will come in handy!
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This is mostly how I make them, too. Except that I only let them sit for 10 minutes. Longer for me and they get that gross grey color around the edge of the yolk which I hate.
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Is that the trick?! Will HAVE to try!!!
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maryanne Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 7:58 pm
I hope it works for you!
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for everyone regarding the difficulty peeling, i heard that it’s a sign of fresh eggs when they’re hard to peel. doesn’t help but at least you know they’re good… good luck
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maryanne Reply:
April 9th, 2012 at 1:21 pm
Thanks, Sharon! I had always heard the opposite, but Wired magazine at least agrees with you! http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/10/eggs-hard-to-peel/
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I dyed yarn instead of eggs this year. But I’m going to keep this in mind for the future.
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Followed instructions to a “t” and eggs were not totally cooked and they weren’t easy to peel:(
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MaryAnne Reply:
January 2nd, 2013 at 7:28 pm
That’s very strange that they weren’t thoroughly cooked. You started with the eggs in cold water, brought it to a full rolling boil, and then had them sit in that water, covered for 15 minutes before transferring them to the ice water?
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I have always used this technique, but I also add white vinegar to my boiling water. Maybe about half a cup for a dozen eggs. Perfect peel each time!
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MaryAnne Reply:
March 17th, 2013 at 8:59 pm
I’ll give that a try this year – thanks for the tip!
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This works for fresh eggs too but you need to add 2 more steps to have them come clean. While eggs are cooling in the first ice bath for 15 min,re-heat your water to boiling. After 15 min, add the eggs back to boiling water for 10 seconds (if you have more than 3, do a few at a time) and go into a second ice water bath.
This makes the eggs constrict from the shell in the 1st ice bath and the re-heat makes the shell expand making freash eggs far more likely to peel easily. Thanks Julia Childs!
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MaryAnne Reply:
April 1st, 2013 at 1:35 pm
So THAT is the trick – thanks, Melissa!
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