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Farm Kitchen:  I'm having a hard boiled egg issue  |
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julia hayes
True Blue Farmgirl
1132 Posts
julia
medical lake
wa
USA
1132 Posts |
 Posted - Dec 21 2005 : 7:37:01 PM
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Forgive me if I sound like I'm complaining.. I LOVE my farm fresh eggs and can not conceive of not having them, BUT I'm struggling to peel the shells. Is there a trick that I'm missing here? Every time I boil an egg and I peel it, I mutilate the egg in the process. The poor thing looks like its been pecked! I've noticed that there's a thick skin that divides the shell layer and the egg white layer and when I get under that it sometimes peels perfectly..emphasis on sometimes. Most of the time, however, its a picky little mess. What am I doing wrong?  Julia Hayes
being simple to simply be |
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DaisyFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
1646 Posts
Diane
Victoria
BC
Canada
1646 Posts |
Posted - Dec 21 2005 : 10:31:22 PM
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...if it's any consolation (and it's probably not), I have the same problem. No such thing as deviled eggs around this farm! I have been told if you heavily salt the water, it is supposed to help. Haven't tried it yet, but will. I've also been told that it's because our eggs are fresh and storebought are not. Don't know about that, but wouldn't eat a storebought egg.
Hopefully somebody here will have an answer for us...IF there is an answer, somebody here will have it. That's pretty much a given.
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Dec 21 2005 : 10:37:54 PM
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Always use your oldest eggs...(well, within reason!) if they are about 5 days old they will peel easier..the store eggs are about a month old alot of times ..ick! If you only have really fresh ones boil them as usual and then quickly plunge the hardboiled eggs right from the hot water into a bowl of ice water..that helps alot. I havn't found salt to help me..but you never know...maybe do both ..couldn't hurt. I make deviled eggs all the time..and I don't buy store eggs either..just have to keep a dozen back and use the fresher ones for other stuff.
Jenny in Utah
It's astonishing how short a time it takes for very wonderful things to happen...Frances Burnette |
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Horseyrider
True Blue Farmgirl
1045 Posts
Mary Ann
Illinois
1045 Posts |
Posted - Dec 22 2005 : 04:57:07 AM
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I agree with Jenny; but mostly we ignored the 'irregularities.'
I miss having eggs so fresh they'd get gnarly when peeled! We plunged them in the ice water and peeled right away for best success. But there were still some rough ones. |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Dec 22 2005 : 07:21:56 AM
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They still taste good..thats right...or you could make egg salad sandwiches..my husband's favorite.
Jenny in Utah
It's astonishing how short a time it takes for very wonderful things to happen...Frances Burnette |
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julia hayes
True Blue Farmgirl
1132 Posts
julia
medical lake
wa
USA
1132 Posts |
Posted - Dec 22 2005 : 07:28:07 AM
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I'm normally not remotely concerned with appearance, and I've made loads of yummy egg salad. I will definitely try using the older ones first etc. I hadn't realized it was related to freshness.. Makes a lot of sense. I also had no idea that store bought eggs are that old. That makes me completely disgusted! I find it ironic that some people I know don't want my fresh eggs because they are either "too eggie tasting" or their just too organic for her taste. That is, seeing my free range chickens and how they lay and that some of the eggs aren't perfectly clean, etc, etc, made her realize that she has a real disconnect with how her food is raised and from where it comes... amazing..Thank you for the wonderful tips! Julia Hayes
being simple to simply be |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Dec 22 2005 : 10:27:05 AM
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In the art of the egg issue of Mary Janes Magazine she gives a lot of information on eggs and how freshness affects them. If you have that issue get it out and refresh your information. I always date the eggs I gather with a #2 pencil and store them with the freshest ones in the bottom carton in the fridge. That way when i have a customer who wants eggs to hard boil I have some 5 day old eggs for them otherwise I tell them that they will be difficult to peel. Plunging into Ice water does help. If I am planning on just egg salad or diced eggs for salad topping then I boil fresh eggs and quickly with a sharp knife chop them in half. This way I can get the egg out of the shell without loosing some of it by using a teaspoon from my silverware drawer. I just scoop it out. If the knife is sharp the egg shell on my homegrown eggs is tough enough not to shatter into little bits and end up in my salad.
Eileen
P.S. When I scoop it out this way I am still left with nice egg halves that I can then slice in my egg slicer into nice rounds for salad topping.
Songbird; singing joy to the earth |
Edited by - Eileen on Dec 22 2005 10:28:51 AM |
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theherblady
True Blue Farmgirl
510 Posts
Jan
Glasford
Illinois
USA
510 Posts |
Posted - Dec 22 2005 : 10:39:30 AM
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I find putting them from boiling water into really cold water works...but then also peeling them as soon as you can handle..My DH always complaining when they dont peel right~~but he lets them sit way too long in the cold water.
Jan |
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therusticcottage
True Blue Farmgirl
4439 Posts
Kay
Vancouver
WA
USA
4439 Posts |
Posted - Dec 22 2005 : 11:24:33 AM
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Yup - the older the egg the easier it is to peel. I guess we won't be having many deviled eggs because I can't stand to have store bought eggs anymore.
http://rusticcottage.blogspot.com/ |
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prairiemaid
True Blue Farmgirl
200 Posts
Margret
Canada
200 Posts |
Posted - Dec 22 2005 : 12:55:32 PM
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LOL! The age old question.  I actually saved some eggs to 'age' in the fridge so I can make deviled eggs for Christmas! One of my egg customers told me she boils the eggs and leaves them in the fridge for a day or so and are easier to peel that way... haven't tried it myself. Will have to try the ice water.
Keep a place apart, within your heart, for little dreams to go! |
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greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Dec 22 2005 : 6:59:46 PM
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I wish I had farm fresh eggs. :(
I find it disturbing when I am making cookies and it asks for two eggs, and I realize one yolk is yellow and the other is nearly orange. One unhealthy bird, one healthy bird. YUCK. |
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OregonGal
True Blue Farmgirl
511 Posts
Chris
No. IL
USA
511 Posts |
Posted - Dec 22 2005 : 9:15:53 PM
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Hello. I look at The Coop website from time to time and this question has come up alot. This is what one person wrote:
"Steaming is the way to go. I didn't believe it - but now I do. I took a one day old egg and tried it. Steamed it for 18 minutes, and then plunged into ice water. I let it sit in the water for about 5 minutes, and it worked very well. I only lost one tiny piece of white. So I tried something else on the second egg. Right before droping the egg into the ice water, I tapped it on the counter to crack it - then plunged into the ice water. That worked like a charm!"
Try it, see if it works - I haven't tried it yet. For me, I find a fresh egg peels better if I peel it when its still good and hot.
"God, I can push the grass apart and lay my finger on thy heart!" |
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Mari-dahlia
True Blue Farmgirl
269 Posts
Marianne
Hoosick Falls
New York
USA
269 Posts |
Posted - Dec 23 2005 : 04:37:07 AM
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| When I ran our families restaurant we had the same problem. Try peeling 300 eggs. All of the tricks above work to a certain extent but you are right, eggs are too fresh and even a week old farm egg will not peel well. I buy store bought for deviled eggs. At Easter time even the store bought are too fresh because they are flying out of there, so I buy them a week ahead. |
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prairiemaid
True Blue Farmgirl
200 Posts
Margret
Canada
200 Posts |
Posted - Dec 23 2005 : 2:51:44 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by greyghost
I realize one yolk is yellow and the other is nearly orange. One unhealthy bird, one healthy bird. YUCK.
The color of the yolk is due to how much "green" the hens have been eating. More grass and weeds etc. make a more orange yolk. You'll be glad to know, both are presumably healthy. 
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Edited by - prairiemaid on Dec 23 2005 2:54:22 PM |
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julia hayes
True Blue Farmgirl
1132 Posts
julia
medical lake
wa
USA
1132 Posts |
Posted - Dec 26 2005 : 7:04:36 PM
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All of these tips have been so Helpful. Thank you. I'm particularly interested in steaming the eggs.. That is so unique. The next time I go to make eggs I'll try that and let you know how it works. right now, my hens (12) are laying like crazy so I'm basically giving away eggs!! I'll have a sign made and posted in my welcoming garden soon enough! Peace, Julia Hayes
being simple to simply be |
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Horseyrider
True Blue Farmgirl
1045 Posts
Mary Ann
Illinois
1045 Posts |
Posted - Dec 27 2005 : 04:44:17 AM
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| Julia, I love the idea of a welcoming garden! Is that something you have around your doorway? Please enlighten us! |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Dec 29 2005 : 03:53:45 AM
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Hi ladies.......just FYI most eggs from the store areat least 6 weeks old. This includes the brown ones too since brown jist indicates darker plumage from the bird. Unless you are buying extremely local you can assume most of your eggs are "old". Sure they eat ok, but if you have access to fresh, that's even better. AND, for those of you who are into the free range bit, whatever the bird eats, goes into the egg. So lots of fresh greens and wild "extras" other than the prescribed mash form the feed store means extra nutrients (and less cholesterol) in the eggs!
Here in the South we get chickweed growth this time of year in the garden. Chickweed is realy high in vitamin C and chickens LOOOOVE it,so our eggs will be highter in C. |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Dec 29 2005 : 03:57:10 AM
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p.s. I could be wrong on this but it's been my experience that egg yolk color indicates richness. Our eggs from free range birds are really dark orange, especially in the summer.
Some feeds include maragold in the mix to make the yolk darker
You can test freshness by how the yolk spreads out in the pan if the yolk holds firm, it's really fresh if it spreads out and looses shape quickly it's old |
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Farm Kitchen: I'm having a hard boiled egg issue |
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I'm having a hard boiled egg issue
