Ina Garten-Inspired Hard-Boiled Eggs

Compiled by Igor Kukolj, Editor. Nobody here has cooked this — how these are made.

Almost every hard-boiled egg recipe tells you to cover the eggs with cold water and bring it to the boil. That instruction is the reason peeling is a misery.

Lower the eggs into water that is already boiling. The outermost layer of white hits high heat and sets in seconds, contracting away from the inner membrane instead of slowly bonding to it as it does during a gradual warm-up. The shell then comes off in two or three pieces rather than taking the white with it.

It is the same eleven minutes either way. Only the starting temperature changes, and it changes the result completely.

Ice water, immediately

Two things happen in the ice bath. The cooking stops, which prevents the grey-green ring of iron sulfide that forms around an overcooked yolk. And the egg contracts inside its shell, opening a gap that makes peeling easier still. Five minutes is enough.

Older eggs peel better

The white of a very fresh egg is acidic and clings to the membrane. Over a week or two the pH rises and the bond weakens. If you are boiling eggs deliberately, buy them a week ahead — this is the one use where fresher is worse.

Start at the fat end

There is an air pocket there, between the shell and the membrane, and it gives you something to get a thumbnail under. Starting at the pointed end means picking at a shell that is flush against the white.

Storing

A week in the fridge, unpeeled — the shell is a better barrier than any container. Peeled, two days, submerged in water so they do not dry out and go rubbery.