hard boiled eggs

[maclellan]

What is the secret to hard boiling eggs so that the shells can be peeled off easily - mine break into a million pieces and take ages to get off.

[shaneystar2]

The eggs are probably too fresh.Use eggs that are at least five days old from their packing date for hard boiled.Boil them and then run the cold tap over them.Then tap the eggs all over to crack the shells, then hold each egg under a slow trickle of running water as you peel the shell off, starting at the wide end. The water will flush off any bits of shell that cling on.

[chamois]

If I could just add, that it's best to put a colander in the sink to catch the fragments. This way there's less delving in the plughole - a horribly fiddly job.

Crack the eggs on the side of the colander.

[Miss Inquiry]

Just run them under the cold tap for 20 seconds after boiling, shell comes off no problem.