Boiled eggs

[aris]

Anyone have a foolproof method of making hard boiled eggs that don't ponk, and that don't have that green ring around the yolk?

I've googled and tried many methods with limited success, so please only post if you have a tried and true method you use yourself.

[Oddley]

I can tell you how to avoid the green ring around the yolk. Immediately after removing them from the hot water hold them under cold running water until cool. Removing the shell as you do so.

[Spuddy]

Oddley is right, the green ring is an indication that they have been overcooked so get them cooled down quickly or don't boil them as long.

If you're interested in the chemistry behind it, when the white is cooked it gives of hydrogen sulphide (which is the smell you speak of). The green is ferrous sulphide which is formed when the iron in the yolk reacts with the hydrogen sulphide. This normally only happens when the temperature in the yolk exceeds 70 degrees C. It is completely harmless however, just not very pleasing to the eye and nose.

[aris]

My wife made some boiled eggs for a salad for lunch today and they had no smell or green ring. She can't recall what she did differently than before - maybt it was just good luck. The eggs were at the end of their use-by date (so not totally fresh), she boiled for 5 minutes, then switched the heat off, and let them sit in the hot water for another 5 minutes, then rinsed under cold water.

This is the technique we usually use, but it seems to be pot luck if we get the smell or not.

[Spuddy]

Maybe she didn't boil them as hard, a very slow simmer is better than a rolling boil for hard boiled eggs as it allows the yolk to cook properly without generating too much hydrogen sulphide in the white by overheating it.
A rolling boil is better for soft boiled eggs, where you want the white to cook before the yolk sets.

[Oddley]

I believe the method Delia recommends is. Bring your eggs to the boil, cover them with a lid turn the gas off and leave for 10 mins.

After what Spuddy has said this makes some sense. I think I might give that method a try.

[DarrellS]

Submerge eggs in cold water.
Bring to a boil.
Remove from heat.
Let stand 15 minutes.
Submerge in ice water for 2 minutes.
Mean while bring original water back to a boil.
Submerge eggs in boiling water for a minute.
Back to ice water and peel immediately or soon, whatever.
Guaranteed every time but it's a pain in the....well you know.

[pawclaws]

Boiling eggs properly begins 24 hours before cooking them, especially if you plan to use them for deviled eggs . Begin by wrapping the carton with a rubber band and standing the carton on the side for 24 hours in the Fridge. This allows the yolk to center in the white and you won't end up with those nasty thin edges that become a problem when the cooked yolk is removed or the stuffing is returned to the white. Place the eggs in your pot and cover with "cold" water. add a tablespoon of white vinegar to the pot. This causes the shell to release the cooked egg sack and makes peeling a bit easier. You will also notice that the exterior of the shell will become very smooth and almost polished making it much nicer for presentation should you desire to color the shells or just save them for the lunch sack. You may add a bit of table salt to the water to speed up boiling if you wish but not if the pot is of aluminum or cast iron. Bring the pot to a boil over medium heat. Cover the pot and turn off the heat at the boil. Hold for 3 minutes for soft boiled, 5 minutes for medium firm, and 10 minutes for hard boiled. The green color of the yolk is eliminated when the cooking process is slowed Remove the eggs at the proper time and cool immediately and as quickly as possible. Quickly "shock" them back in hot water for a minute or two then finish processing. They should be peeled before the eggs are completely cooled making peeling a bit easier.
Hey, does everybody know what color roosters produce brown eggs?

*p.s. Through experimentation my friends and I have discovered that there is an aid to peeling as follows: When the cooking time has elapsed pour off the water and cover the pot with a lid and shake the pan violently and immediately fill the pan with hot water. This cracks the shells and in some cases actually removes the shell completely. Finish peeling the eggs while they are as warm as can be handled. We still do not understand why it works so well; but, try it . It is simply amazing! :D

[hoggie]

i take the eggs straight from the fridge, into cold water, bring to the boil, give the eggs a good stirring, to centre the yokes, boil for ten min, then under a cold running tap. you will never get that horrible green ring round the yoke. hope this helps.

[pawclaws]

Hoggie, then you should be able to answer this question: Hey, does everybody know what color roosters produce brown eggs? Welcome aboard Hoggie!!

[Spuddy]

Pawclaws

I keep chickens and can tell you that the colour of the roosters (we call them hens) has no bearing on the colour of the eggs. It is the breed that dictates the colour.

[Erikht]

White Italians are actually called so because of the colour of the eggs.

I think Rhode Island Reds have brown eggs.

[pawclaws]

Spuddy I must give you a passing score on a technicality. The color of the rooster indeed has nothing to do with the color of the egg because; you do not need a rooster to produce an egg! On the other hand though one absolutely "must" have a rooster to produce a chicken!! Based on the clues given for Rhode Island Reds and Italian Whites by Erikht; Generally speaking what color chicken (hen) will produce a light colored (white) egg? By the way do you Englanders have a preference for light or dark eggs? Here in the US brown eggs at the market will generally fetch fifty percent more than white eggs. Having grown up around farms I think I developed a slight preference for brown eggs; but not quite strong enough to pay "half again" more for them.

[J.P.]

Pretty much all our eggs are brown.

You'll only get white eggs at farmers' markets, and then, not often.

I've never known what the difference
between the two besides the colour of the shell.
(not having access to white eggs,
I've never been able to do a comparison.)

(But I am confused, because remembering an episode of mash,
when Hawkeye, comparing the quality of the food at the camp to a stale egg in a shoe,
then said 'A Brown Egg' So I assumed brown eggs were worse...?)

[pawclaws]

LOL!! J.P. I'm certain that there is no quality difference based on shell color. The color of the egg shell is determined by the breed of the chicken. oddly enough, here, the majority of eggs are white and laid by brown chickens. The brown shelled eggs here are predominantly laid by white chickens. The better quality eggs here are normally those laid by the scrawniest game hens bred for "illegal" fighting.