How to Make a Hard Boiled Egg for Decorating or Eating!

Hard boiling eggs is a good way to make the eggs last, and avoid wasting eggs at Easter time. This method produces tender, not rubbery, eggs and minimizes cracking. Here's how to make a hard boiling egg, in simple steps.
 

Step by Step to Hard Boiling Eggs

1. Gently set raw eggs in a saucepan that is large enough to hold them in single layer.
2. Add enough cold tap water to cover eggs by 1 inch.
3. Turn on the burner to high heat
4. Bring the water just to boiling.
5. As soon as it is boiling, remove the pan from the burner.
6. Cover the pan and let it stand for: 15 minutes for large eggs; 12 minutes for medium eggs; and 18 minutes for extra large eggs.
7. Drain immediately and cool completely under cool running water or in bowl of ice water, then refrigerate. If you want to avoid the shells cracking so you can dye or decorate the eggs, cool them this way instead: do not drain the pan of hot water, but simply put it in the sink and turn on the cold water tap.  allow the cold water to mix withthe hot so the eggs cool down gently, slowly over a few minutes time.  Then drain and refrigerate them.

Tips, tricks and problems with hardboiled eggs

Greenish rings.

The green ring is a harmless discoloration resulting from a reaction between sulfur that is naturally present in the egg white and iron in the yolk. It happens when eggs have been cooked for too long or at too high a temperature. The method above minimizes this.

Difficulty peeling eggs

For some reason very fresh eggs can be tough to peel; one theory holds that the if you refrigerate them a week to 10 days in advance of cooking, it allows the membranes to seprate from the shell. Hard-cooked eggs are usually easiest to peel right after cooling, since the cooling causes the egg to contract slightly in the shell.

How to peel a hard boiled egg

Gently tap egg against the countertop until shell is finely crackled all over. Roll the egg between your hands to loosen the shell. Then starting peeling at large end.

Storage time:

Hard boiled eggs can be safely stored in the refrigerator for up to one week. Once peeled, eggs should be eaten on that day.

Safety Tips

Never microwave eggs in shells. Steam builds up too quickly inside and the eggs are likely to explode. You may consider that funny... unless you are the one who must clean up the mess.
High altitude cooking: above 10,000 feet in altitude, eggs will not hard boil. The water is not hot enough at this altitude.

Anatomy of an egg

 

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