Ask Lemmy

My best results come from:

• Bring your water to a boil. Before or after it starts boiling, add a disgusting amount of baking soda. The alkalinity will help weaken the shell membrane, so that they peel like much older eggs
• As your boiling time comes to an end, prepare a bowl of salty ice water. The salt is to lower the freezing point so that the ice cubes cool the water to perfect shocking levels
• As soon as your egg is cooked, quickly and SAFELY move it from the hot water to the ice bath. Let the egg hang out for a bit. People often enjoy chilled hard boiled eggs, so every bit of time the egg chills gets to closer to enjoying the fruits of your labor
• Crack the shell a little bit and then run the egg under cold tap water while you gently peel the shell away using your fingerTIPS, not nails
• When the water hits at the right angle, it should practically peel the egg for you, right under your fingers.

Your water for boiling can be reused for cooking beans, the baking soda will help break down the various gas-causing sugars, and cellulose. Don't fully cook them in this water, they'll taste bad. This is simply a trick so that you can soak your beans for 45 minutes or so instead of overnight.

The salt bath can be used to start a brine, or to cook pasta.