Nothing Hard About it: Hard-Cooking is Incredibly Easy

How to Make Perfectly Hard-cooked (not boiled) Eggs for Easter

This Easter, if you are boiling your eggs, it’s time to take a fresh look at your hard-cooking method. According to a recent survey by the American Egg Board, nearly eight out of 10 moms say their knowledge of hard-cooking eggs is excellent or good, yet when asked to identify the proper preparation method, less than three in 10 moms are actually cooking those eggs correctly.¹ Howard Helmer, eggspert and Guinness World Record holder for omelet-making, shares the following tips on how to properly hard-cook (not boil) eggs for Easter or any time of the year.

THREE simple steps to properly hard-cook (not boil) eggs:

1. Place eggs in saucepan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Add cold water to cover eggs by 1 inch. Heat over high heat just to boiling.
2. Remove from burner. Cover pan. Let eggs stand in hot water about 15 minutes for Large eggs (12 minutes for Medium eggs; 18 for Extra Large).
   
3. Cool completely under cold running water or in a bowl of ice water. Peel and eat, or store unpeeled in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
   

The HARD facts:

• Hard-COOKED, not hard-BOILED. While the cooking water must come to a full boil in this method, the pan is immediately removed from the heat so that the eggs cook gently in the hot water. Hard-cooking produces tender eggs and minimizes cracking.
• Hard-cooked eggs in the shell can be refrigerated safely for up to one week. Peeled hard-cooked eggs should be eaten that day.
• Peel a hard-cooked egg. Gently tap egg on countertop until the shell is finely cracked all over. Roll egg between hands to loosen shell. Peel starting at the large end and hold the egg under cold running water to help ease the shell off.
• Banish the greenish ring. This harmless but unsightly discoloration that sometimes forms around hard-cooked yolks results from a reaction between sulfur in the egg white and iron in the yolk. It occurs when eggs have been cooked for too long or at too high a temperature.
• Very fresh eggs can be difficult to peel. Buy and refrigerate your eggs a week to 10 days in advance of cooking them to make the peeling process easier. This brief “breather” allows the eggs time to take in air, which helps separate the membranes from the shell.
• Hard-cooked eggs are easiest to peel after cooling. Cooling causes the egg to contract slightly in the shell.
• Prepare a dozen hard-cooked eggs on Sunday so you’ll have an all-natural, high-quality protein option on hand for your family during the busy week ahead, either for an on-the-go breakfast or after-school snack.

Visit IncredibleEgg.org for more hard-cooked egg recipes, tips, egg nutrition information and more.

¹Impulse Research for American Egg Board. Survey conducted online with random sample of 1,074, mothers aged 18 and older. Research was conducted in February 2010. Overall sampling error for survey is +/- 3% at the 95% level of confidence.