"Eggstra" Special Egg Tips

Terrific tips for cooking, preparing and storing eggs.

How to Cook Hard-Cooked Eggs. The term "boiled eggs", is a misnomer for eggs cooked in the shell. Although the term hard-boiled is often used in conversation, the proper term is hard-cooked. When eggs are boiled, the high cooking temperature makes them tough and rubbery. Hard-cooked, not hard-boiled. Although 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. This produces tender, not rubbery, eggs and minimizes cracking. Banish the greenish ring. This harmless but unsightly discoloration that sometimes forms around hard-boiled 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 – cooking eggs in hot, not boiling, water, then cooling immediately – minimizes this. Food safety precaution: Piercing shells before cooking is not recommended. If not sterile, the piercer or needle can introduce bacteria into the egg. Also, piercing creates hairline cracks in the shell, through which bacteria can enter after cooking. Never microwave eggs in shells. Steam builds up too quickly inside and eggs are likely to explode. Very fresh eggs can be difficult to peel. To ensure easily peeled eggs, buy and refrigerate them a week to 10 days in advance of cooking. 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 right after cooling. Cooling causes the egg to contract slightly in the shell. To peel a hard-cooked egg: Gently tap egg on countertop until shell is finely crackled all over. Roll egg between hands to loosen shell. Starting peeling at large end, holding egg under cold running water to help ease the shell off. To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh. If it rises to the surface, throw it away. To keep the shell of a hard-cooked egg from cracking, add a heaping teaspoon of salt to the boiling water. For best results and greater volume when whipping egg whites, make sure they are at room temperature. To separate a lot of eggs at once, break them carefully into a big bowl and then (with your impeccably clean hands) simply scoop out the yolks. Raw eggs separate more easily while still cold from the refrigerator, but allow the whites to reach room temperature to get maximum volume when beating. Always store raw eggs in their carton because eggs can absorb refrigerator odors. Storage time for hard-cooked eggs: In the shell, hard-cooked eggs can be refrigerated safely up to one week. Refrigerate in their original carton to prevent odor absorption. Once peeled, eggs should be eaten that day. High altitude cooking: It's almost impossible to hard-cook eggs above 10,000 feet. Tips courtesy of the American Egg Board.