Boiling eggs without the shell sticking: just add plenty of salt

Hard boil an egg the right way, use salt.

To boil an egg without the egg sticking to the shell when you peel it, all you need is one extra ingredient in the water and plenty of it: salt. Sometimes when I made hard boiled eggs in the past, the shell would stick to the white part of the egg when I peeled them. But after I began adding 2-3 tablespoons of salt, this is a problem of the past, and the egg shells just slide right off.

There are theories that shells are sticking less in older or younger eggs, but I haven't observed any difference, old or new eggs, as long as salt is added. I can't remember if I read about the salt trick, or was just experimenting. Other people do also mention adding salt to the water on the Internet, but not in these amounts :-)

How to boil the perfect egg

  1. Add enough water in your boiling pot to cover the eggs when you add them. I usually use hot tap water, to get the water boiling faster and haven't noticed any difference in taste.
  2. Add 2-3 tablespoons of salt to the water. In theory Himalaya salt or similar unrefined salts without additives are healthier, but it would end up being pretty expensive in the long run, so I just use ordinary table salt.
  3. When the water is boiling, put your eggs in the pot. You might want to use a tablespoon to do this, to avoid getting burned by the boiling water and steam.
  4. When the water is boiling again, reduce the heat to low, and let the eggs simmer to get the kind of egg you want, whether it is soft or hard boiled. Be careful not to over boil them, which will result in a dry yolk. A steady boil for about 7 to 9 minutes is what I normally do. To calculate exactly how long your eggs need, use this egg boiling calculator tool ("The Art of Boiling an Egg") developed by the Norwegian Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences to calculate how long to boil your eggs.

    Eggets omkrets = Circumference of the egg (in centimeters)

    Plommens sluttemperatur = Yolk end temperature
    hard = Hard
    middels = Middle
    bløtt = Soft

    Eggets starttemperatur = Egg start temperature

    Vannets kokepunkt = Boiling point of water
    34 moh = 34 meters above sea level

  5. Strain off the water from the pot and fill it with cold water. Wait a minute, strain again and repeat this until the water is still sort of cold after 30 seconds.
  6. Strain the water from the eggs and peel them by cracking them open on the sink or similar hard surface. Try to get hold of the membrane and break it, after which the shell will peel of easier and usually slide right off in two parts. No more fidgeting and egg white sticking to the shell.
  7. The best way to store your eggs in the fridge is in a closed container, to avoid odours in your refrigerator, preferably of ceramics or glass to avoid BPA and other chemicals. Enjoy your eggs within 5 days.

Comments

This is now on top of my to do list :) Gotta try this out.
I hate it when it is impossible to peel an egg, but I thought this was just an old "skrøne" with the salt.

That's a great one to remember. Here's MY pro-tip: Put the eggs in the cold water and cook it until the water comes to a boil. Turn the heat off and let the eggs sit in the hot water about 12 to 15 minutes before peeling. It will cook perfectly and you won't get a green rim around the yolks. Now, with the salty water, the entire operation will be painless.