I did a Madhur Jaffrey dish for lunch which is hard-boiled eggs in a hot and sour sauce. I found that a lot of the egg white was coming off as I took off the eggshell.

Is that because I didn't let them cool down properly before peeling off the shells?

Phil

I always plunge the boiled eggs into icy water as soon as taking them out of the saucepan.

My rationale was that this would stop a black ring forming between the white and the yolk.

On looking it up it seems equally it is "to insure that the shell will separate from the albumen (the thin film that separates the shell from the egg) allowing us to peel the egg."

You learn something every day!

there are three membranes in an egg, none of which is the albumen, which is the pure protein white of the egg. Two membranes are between the shell and the albuein.

I put my eggs in cold water too, but to cool them so that I can peel them immediately. I role the boiled egg under my palm to break the shell into lots of little pieces, which then can be pealed very easily, as the little shards stick to the membrane.

FYI the liquid that seeps out of meat whilst it is cooking is also albumen, this time serum albumen, and it is the protein found in highest amounts in human serum.

check the freshness of the eggs, the older ones don't seem to split from the shell the same

Steve

I am generally in a hurry, so plunge them in running water under tap. Then tap them on the work surface to break the shell all over. Then i peel a little bit of the shell with fingers, insert a teaspoon and gently push it in all round underneath the shell membrane. The whole shell and membrane comes off quite easily. Very occasionally this doesn't work, not sure why, probably older eggs!

I think I remember tv cook Delia Smith saying that fresh eggs are much harder to peel so she advised when making boiled eggs it was best to use older eggs about 2 weeks old if I remember right.

I'd agree with Savs. The fresher the egg the harder to peel when hardboiled.

Martin

Try boiling and peeling 6 dozen eggs!!!

Ok, thanks, everyone. I'll try that rolling technique, and the teaspoon. I cut my fingernails very short, which doesn't help.

Phi

My technique with this is to plunge the eggs into cold water as soon as I take them off the burner, then almost immediately break the shells and take off a few bits, then leave in cold water for at least 5 minutes. This seems to allow the cold water to do the trick as I never have any trouble with the egg sticking to the shell.

I have not tried putting them in cold water again after breaking them, will certainly give it a try.