I don’t know about you, but I, for one, appreciate the kitchen tricks I come across, because many of them really make life a good deal easier. There are others that are a bit meh, but they remain curious. Returning to the former, it’s striking how many of them relate to the egg. From supremely easy egg-based dinners that help you sleep soundly, to how to get a fried egg to turn out perfectly, and even how to boil an egg.
Boiling an egg has its challenges, because if you haven’t got the hang of it, it’s not uncommon for the shell to crack midway through, letting some of the white spill out and mingle with the water. This happens when, instead of lowering the egg into the water from the start so it heats up gradually, you drop it in once the water is already boiling.
Thus, the air chamber inside the egg experiences a sudden rise in pressure as a result of the temperature change, causing the shell to crack. Hence the ideal is to take the eggs out of the fridge a touch earlier and drop them into the water from the start.
Peeling a boiled egg with ease
What about once it’s cooked? Do you peel it without any trouble, or have you written it off as impossible? As you’ll have discovered more than once, or twice, what seems straightforward can become incredibly tricky when the shell clings tightly to the white. This is a real nuisance, especially when you want to keep the yolk intact because you plan to make stuffed eggs.
Jesús Sánchez, chef at Cenador de Amós, a three‑Michelin‑starred restaurant, has shared on his social media the trick that will solve the problem very easily. That said, you’ll need to remember to apply it beforehand. The trick consists of adding salt and vinegar to the water in which you will boil the egg. The explanation is that the vinegar helps stabilise the proteins in the egg white, while the salt reduces the adhesion between the shell and the white, making them separate more readily.
As you’ve seen, it’s something very simple that’s worth trying the next time you boil eggs. And if you still didn’t know the trick or simply forgot to try it, can you do anything to make peeling easier? Indeed. On one hand you should let it cool in cold water, even ice water. This way, besides stopping the cooking, the interior of the egg would contract more quickly than the shell, so they wouldn’t be so stuck together.
Another solution would be to roll it over a surface using the palm of your hand, while applying a gentle pressure to crack the shell. This is the trick I’ve been using at home until now.
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