On Wed, 18 Jan 2006 11:00:36 GMT, (Phred)
wrote:

>In article .com>,
>"maxine in ri" > wrote:
>>William Wagner wrote:
>>> In article >,
>>
>>> I was just wondering if you folks poke a hole in the raw egg like I do
>>> before cooking ?
>>
>>No. If they start in cold water with salt, they don't seem to crack as
>>much. If there are too few or too many in the pot, they will rattle
>>around and crack themselves against each other. Then again, sometimes
>>it doesn't make a difference. Last night I had 7 in the 1 quart pot,
>>and none cracked. Last time, I had 7 in the pot, and 1 cracked.
>
>Recalling days of chem prac decades ago, I've sometimes wondered if
>the "glass bead" principle would work with boiling eggs. Haven't
>actually tried (don't have any glass beads -- and I suspect the lab
>size would soon all be gone down the plug hole if I did have some
>but maybe I will one day -- if I ever get around to buying a pack of
>those cheap marbles from Coles Variety or wherever. They might be too
>big relative to the size of the eggs though; could just get the whole
>caboodle bouncing around!

Vinegar works. One tbsp of vinegar in the water.

Nathalie in Switzerland

Nathalie Chiva > wrote in
:

>>In article
ps.com>, "maxine
>>in ri" > wrote:
>>>No. If they start in cold water with salt, they don't seem to
>>>crack as much. If there are too few or too many in the pot, they
>>>will rattle around and crack themselves against each other. Then
>>>again, sometimes it doesn't make a difference. Last night I had
>>>7 in the 1 quart pot, and none cracked. Last time, I had 7 in
>>>the pot, and 1 cracked.
>
> Vinegar works. One tbsp of vinegar in the water.

That will limit leakage but not prevent cracking. To prevent cracking,
discolouration and what not, place the eggs in cold water, bring water
to a boil, then take off the heat and let sit for twelve minutes
exactly. Your hard boiled eggs will be perfect.

If you're wary of that, turn down to barely a simmer.

--

"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why
the poor have no food, they call me a communist."

Dom Helder Camara

Eggs begin with a very tiny air pocket that grows over time. They crack because this air pocket expands when heated. The fresher the egg, the smaller the air pocket, the less tendency toward cracking. At the same time, though, the fresher the egg, the harder they are to peel.

There's no such thing as a simple foolproof hard cooked egg recipe. Boiling an egg may seem like the simplest thing in the world, but when you start looking at the number of variables involved, the list is huge. Just off the top of my head, you have:

Size of the egg
Age of the egg
Amount of water (more water will hold heat longer and will also take longer to bring to a boil)
Number of eggs (the more eggs you use, the greater the initial drop in heat)
BTU output of stove
Shape/material of cooking vessel
Dissolved minerals in the water
Fridge temp
Altitude

In other words, if a recipe doesn't list things like the number of eggs or the quantity of water, it will produce completely inconsistent results from person to person. Everyone and their brother has a simple foolproof recipe for eggs. Don't believe the hype.

Your best bet is some trial and error. Try to decrease the variables by using the same amount of water, the same saucepan and the same number of eggs. Start off with less time- an undercooked hard cooked egg with a slightly soft yolk is far preferable to a smelly overcooked gray/green tinged yolk. Once you get a time that works- stick with it for that size egg. Once you find that magic window, that will be YOUR foolproof recipe. Please don't impose it on anyone else, though

It's a hassle, but if you really want consistently excellent hard cooked eggs, trial and error/mitigating the variables is essential. A lot of foods are like this. Contrary to what many people believe there is no 'correct' time to cook rice nor 'correct' amount of water to add. Same with beans.

scott123 wrote:

> Eggs begin with a very tiny air pocket that grows over time. They crack
> because this air pocket expands when heated. The fresher the egg, the
> smaller the air pocket, the less tendency toward cracking. At the same
> time, though, the fresher the egg, the harder they are to peel.
>

This is not completely accurate. Egg shells are permeable to air, so as
the air exmands it passes thru the shell - this is why you see bubbles
rising from eggs in the hot water. The main reason eggs crack while
being boiled is that they are already cracked - small hairline cracks
that are not visible initially. Knocking around in too-rapidly boiling
water is another reason. Temperature shock is not involved. I remember
seeing Julia Child take eggs from an ice water bath directly to boiling
water with no cracking.

Peter

On Thu 19 Jan 2006 06:36:07a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it P.Aitken?

>
>
> scott123 wrote:
>
>> Eggs begin with a very tiny air pocket that grows over time. They crack
>> because this air pocket expands when heated. The fresher the egg, the
>> smaller the air pocket, the less tendency toward cracking. At the same
>> time, though, the fresher the egg, the harder they are to peel.
>>
>
> This is not completely accurate. Egg shells are permeable to air, so as
> the air exmands it passes thru the shell - this is why you see bubbles
> rising from eggs in the hot water. The main reason eggs crack while
> being boiled is that they are already cracked - small hairline cracks
> that are not visible initially. Knocking around in too-rapidly boiling
> water is another reason. Temperature shock is not involved. I remember
> seeing Julia Child take eggs from an ice water bath directly to boiling
> water with no cracking.

Curious... What would be the point of taking eggs from an ice water bath
and putting them in boiling water, besides the obvious, cooking them? I
mean, why ice beforehand?

--
Wayne Boatwright Õ¿Õ¬
________________________________________

Okay, okay, I take it back! UnScrew you!

Wayne Boatwright wrote:

> On Thu 19 Jan 2006 06:36:07a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it P.Aitken?
>
>
>>
>>scott123 wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Eggs begin with a very tiny air pocket that grows over time. They crack
>>>because this air pocket expands when heated. The fresher the egg, the
>>>smaller the air pocket, the less tendency toward cracking. At the same
>>>time, though, the fresher the egg, the harder they are to peel.
>>>
>>
>>This is not completely accurate. Egg shells are permeable to air, so as
>>the air exmands it passes thru the shell - this is why you see bubbles
>>rising from eggs in the hot water. The main reason eggs crack while
>>being boiled is that they are already cracked - small hairline cracks
>>that are not visible initially. Knocking around in too-rapidly boiling
>>water is another reason. Temperature shock is not involved. I remember
>>seeing Julia Child take eggs from an ice water bath directly to boiling
>>water with no cracking.
>
>
> Curious... What would be the point of taking eggs from an ice water bath
> and putting them in boiling water, besides the obvious, cooking them? I
> mean, why ice beforehand?
>

To demonstrate that the temperature shock does not cause cracking,
that's all.

Peter

On Thu 19 Jan 2006 08:36:18a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it P.Aitken?

>
>
> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>
>> On Thu 19 Jan 2006 06:36:07a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it
>> P.Aitken?
>>
>>
>>>
>>>scott123 wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>Eggs begin with a very tiny air pocket that grows over time. They
>>>>crack because this air pocket expands when heated. The fresher the
>>>>egg, the smaller the air pocket, the less tendency toward cracking. At
>>>>the same time, though, the fresher the egg, the harder they are to
>>>>peel.
>>>>
>>>
>>>This is not completely accurate. Egg shells are permeable to air, so as
>>>the air exmands it passes thru the shell - this is why you see bubbles
>>>rising from eggs in the hot water. The main reason eggs crack while
>>>being boiled is that they are already cracked - small hairline cracks
>>>that are not visible initially. Knocking around in too-rapidly boiling
>>>water is another reason. Temperature shock is not involved. I remember
>>>seeing Julia Child take eggs from an ice water bath directly to boiling
>>>water with no cracking.
>>
>>
>> Curious... What would be the point of taking eggs from an ice water
>> bath and putting them in boiling water, besides the obvious, cooking
>> them? I mean, why ice beforehand?
>>
>
> To demonstrate that the temperature shock does not cause cracking,
> that's all.

Oh, well yes, that would do it. I thought maybe Julia had a trick up her
sleeve. <g>

--
Wayne Boatwright Õ¿Õ¬
________________________________________

Okay, okay, I take it back! UnScrew you!

The bubbles you see rising from boiling eggs are NOT from the air inside the shell. It's from the air trapped in the tiny crevices on the outside of the shell. Egg shells are permeable to air, but the permeability isn't instantaneous. We aren't talking about an air conditioner filter here. The air exchanged from the outside to the inside of the shell occurs over days, not seconds.

It's basic physics. The torque required to break a shell from the inside is very small. Air expands when heated. Hairline cracks/structural integrity/rough handling certainly play a role, but the age of the egg and the size of the air pocket are critical in the egg breaking equation.

As far as Julia Child's incontrovertable proof... most refrigerators are in the 35-40 degree realm. Ice water can't be colder than 32 (unless it's salted ice water). Those few degrees difference isn't going to increase the thermal shock that dramatically. Besides, she was probably just using fresh eggs.

Age isn't the best measurement for determining the size of the air pocket. Depending on the storage conditions and the composition of the shell, evaporation can vary greatly. The most foolproof method is to shine a light through them (called candling). Leave some eggs in the fridge for a few months and candle them to make sure the air pocket is substantial. If the pocket is sizable, I promise you, they will all crack when they hit boiling water, regardless of the presence of hairline cracks or whether they knock around or not.

Every one of them.

scott123 wrote:

<snipped>

I read your post several times, my jaw dropping lower each time.
Everything - EVERYTHING - you say is factually wrong. Where on earth do
you get this bullshit? Even the most backward high school in the
backwoods of Mississippi cannot teach this tripe.

Time for the ibuprofen - the idea that human bengs can be so abysmally
stupid and ignorant gives me a headache. I pity you but I will not put
up with uour BS.

Peter

P.Aitken wrote:

> scott123 wrote:
>
> <snipped>
>
> I read your post several times, my jaw dropping lower each time.
> Everything - EVERYTHING - you say is factually wrong. Where on earth do
> you get this bullshit? Even the most backward high school in the
> backwoods of Mississippi cannot teach this tripe.
>
> Time for the ibuprofen - the idea that human bengs can be so abysmally
> stupid and ignorant gives me a headache. I pity you but I will not put
> up with uour BS.



You mean you won't give the man a dollar, Peter...???


--
Best
Greg

If I'm wrong, prove it. Otherwise, shut the **** up.