Why Do Shells Stick to Hard Boiled Eggs?

This morning I was craving homemade chicken salad like you wouldn't believe.

Now, I want you to know that I rarely have cravings for food. Eating is more like a necessity than an enjoyment for me.

When our family lived in New Orleans I would often crave Cajun boiled shrimp, crab meat au gratin, or spicy jambalaya but once out of the Big Easy, food seemed to be much more bland, boring, and not worth craving. Not today though. Today, I wanted homemade chicken salad like no body's business.

While I waited for my boiled eggs to cool, I decided to chop up the chicken, celery and mixed it all together with some Hellman's light mayo and herb seasonings. I couldn't wait to enjoy my little creation!

My excitement slowly turned to frustration when I began to peel the hard boiled eggs. Some of the shells came off so easily and without a fight but others hung on for dear life as if they were holding onto a life preserver in the middle of a raging storm. When I was finally done peeling all the eggs, half of them looked perfect and the other half appeared to have just be a fight with a chicken... and the chicken won.

For years I have struggled with successfully boiling eggs ( pretty lame, huh?). Am I the only person who can't keep shells from sticking? With all the difficult tasks that a woman faces in her daily routine, are boiled eggs going to defeat her? I decided to settle this dilemma once and for all! What did I do? I googled, of course and here's what I found out.

Tips on cooking boiled eggs:

1. Place eggs in very cold water

Well, I messed up from the get-go. I always use hot water because I want the eggs to hurry up and boil really fast. I figured hot water comes to a boil a lot quicker than cold water, right?

2. Cover the pot and wait for water to come to a boil.

O.k., second mistake. I never put a lid on my pot. No wonder why my eggs come out so lousy. I'm doing this totally wrong!

3. Once eggs come to a boil, remove from heat and let sit for 10-12 minutes.

Alright, now I feel like a complete idiot. I would never think to remove them from the heat once they start boiling. Isn't that when they just begin to cook? I normally boil the heck out of them for 10-12 minutes. Poor little things. Now I'm wondering why they haven't turned to rubber all these years.

4. Empty the water out and replace with fresh water and ice cubes. This is called giving your eggs an ice bath.

Nope, I don't do this either. I normally just drain the water and let them cool. An ice bath sound sounds kind of fun though.

Well, thanks to the Internet, I now know how to boil and peel eggs perfectly. Hopefully, you do too after reading my post. If you have any other helpful tips for me about boiling eggs, I'd love to hear them. Actually, if you have any other helpful hints about anything related to cooking, I'd love to hear them. I'm not the best when it comes to culinary craftiness.

Before I sign off, I'm leaving you with a really awesome way to peel eggs. I'm going to try this one out next time. Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETgWdRfRY2U