This Is The Best Way To Peel Boiled Eggs, According To Science

Jorge Campos on Unsplash" />Boiled eggs in pink cartonIf you are an egg fiend and have a soft spot for these hard-shelled beauties, chances are that you have been given multiple ‘hacks’ and ‘tricks’ to effortlessly peeling them.From shaking them to bringing vinegar into the fold, everyone has their own ideas for mastering this but now, Paulmoi (Polly) Burey, a Professor in Food Science, has revealed the real scientific answer.Writing for The Conversation, she reveals that there are three science-backed steps to perfecting the art of peeling an egg.How to successfully peel an eggDon’t use fresh eggsYes, if you have just bought a new carton of eggs, boiled eggs probably aren’t the best shout. She explains: “In a fresh egg the air cell is still quite small. As the egg ages, it (very) slowly loses moisture through the porous shell, increasing the size of the air cell while the rest of the egg contents shrink. A bigger air cell makes it easier to start the peeling action.”Noted.Be careful with temperatureWhile many of us have been taught to start off with boiling water and letting it lower to a simmer, Burey advises that this only works for room temperature eggs. She advises: “The reasoning behind this approach is that exposure to higher temperatures from the start of cooking also makes it easier for the membrane to come away from the shell and egg white.“Furthermore, the quick hot start makes it easier for the egg white proteins to denature (change structure as they cook) and bond to each other, rather than to the membrane.”Once they’re cooked, Burey recommends “quenching” them in ice water to help the egg white to slightly shrink away from the shell, improving the overall “peelability”.Add things to the water (if you want)Burey says: “You could try adding baking soda or vinegar to the water. With vinegar, the theory is that it attacks the calcium carbonate in the eggshell to then aid its removal. As for baking soda, because it’s alkaline, it could help detach the membrane from the shell.”Brb, got some boiling to do.Related...I Tried 1 Trick For The Jammiest Boiled Eggs, And I'm Never Going BackHere's The Best Utensil To Lift Poached Eggs Out Of A Pan, And It's Not A Slotted SpoonPeople Are Sharing The Best Way To Poach Eggs Without Vinegar, And It's Unbelievably Simple

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