Shelling eggs

[SCCheshire]

Can anyone tell me the secret of how to shell a hard boiled egg? Sometimes the shell comes off almost in one piece but on others it takes an age to get all 100 pieces off and in doing so lose quite a bit of the white.

[stewey]

I find that if the egg has been refrigerated and is quite cold it is much easier to peel than when it has just been cooked.

[daffidazey]

When it is cooked put it in a pan of cold water for a couple of minutes, then tap it all over with a spoon, you should find the shell comes off really easy. x

[Rollo]

The fresher the egg the easier it is to get the shell off.

As soon as you have finished boiling it plunge the egg into running cold water and leave it until the egg is cold.

This also stops a grey ring appearing around the yolk.

[samsong7]

Tap the egg crack all around it and then slide a spoon under the shell. I find it comes of really easy this way.

[scoobysoo]

Run the egg under cold water for a minute or to, then roll the egg around on a chopping board. No tapping needed, just roll it on all sides, and the shell will come away in one easy piece

[littlepiggy]

never let the egg come out of the water ..put cold water into the pan displacing the hot and tap the egg on the pan side as you do it ..the water will run round between the shell and egg white and help to make it easy to remove ..

[Lucy Thomas]

Put the hard boiled egg on a hard surface, place the palm of your hand on top and press down gently. Now, roll the egg around the board until the shell has fragmented into many small pieces but is still being held together by the skin. It can now be easily removed.

[SCCheshire]

Thanks to everybody!! The cold water seems to be the common suggestion. As for the little debate going on re fresh/older eggs, I have found 2 eggs from the same batch treated in the same way can behave differently when being shelled.

[se�orita]

Always cook the eggs in salted water and you�ll find that they always peel easily

[melthemum]

If you pierce the egg before cooking it and the bottom of the egg (the most rounded of the 2 ends) and then cook you will find that the skin comes of with the egg shell.