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Cooking Hard Boiled Eggs

I always have to look this one up because I don’t do it that often and I always forget. I have used this method before and it really does work better than any other. It will give you perfect hard boiled eggs. First of all use older eggs. Fresh eggs are really hard to peel when you hard boil them. Try to have your eggs at room temperature though I know you don’t always have the 30 minutes to wait until they come to room temperature.

Fill the pot with cold water and add the eggs. Make their is an inch of water above the eggs. America’s Test Kitchen and other recommend putting a pin hole in the eggs before boiling to make peeling the shell easier. I have had inconsistent results with this. Sometime it seems easier, sometimes not. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and turn your burner up to high. Bring the water to a boil. When the water comes to a full bil remove the pot from the burner and place it on a cool burner.

I check another site and they said to sprinkle a teaspoon of salt over the eggs. I have never tired this but I thought it was worth passing along. It is supposed to make them easier to peel. Let the eggs sit in the hot water for 25 minutes. If they are very large eggs give them 30 minutes.

Now put your eggs in a bowl of ice water to cool them. You have to do this so you won’t get that yucky green discoloration around the yolks. Let them stay in the water about 30 minutes. Crack the shell (tap them on the counter) and then return them to the ice water. When you have all the shells cracked you can start peeling.

You are going to have egg shells left over and guess what you can recycle them. I put mine in the compost pile or in the garden. When I have tomatoes planted I put them out with the tomato plants because they are good for the soil and the sharp edges keep slugs away. You can also add them to the soil of your houseplants (wash the shells first).

Another use for them is as food for nesting birds. Birds nest and lay eggs in the spring, and the females’ requirement for calcium is high right before they lay their eggs. Chicken (and other) egg shells are rick in calcium. Here is how the experts suggest you give the shells to the birds. The safest and easiest way to provide calcium to the birds is to grind up the egg shells and stir them into cornmeal. Sprinkle the cornmeal/calcium mix around the feeders, on a platform if available.

You can also use them as a decoration on crafts. You wash the shells and crush them (rolling pin folled over shells in a plastic bag). Mix the shells with enough white glue to make a chunky paste. Spread the paste on the item you want to decorate and let dry. Drying may take a day or two. Then you can spray the item and you will have a cool textured surface.

Check our post on this site on how-to-make-your-own-mulch

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