Thread: Boiled Eggs
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Old 03-15-2018, 10:34 PM   #20
Glinda
Fucktard Resistance League
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: 1.14 acres of heaven
Posts: 1,512
As someone that has investigated this personally (I am the Egg Lady, after all), I know there are many recommended procedures. The one I've settled on is this:
  • Put eggs in pot and fill with warm (not hot) water to just cover the eggs. Heat on high until water boils, then lower temp just a bit so water doesn't boil over. Set timer for five minutes.
  • When timer rings, remove pot from heat, cover, and set timer for 15 minutes.
  • When timer rings, pour out hot water and run cold water over eggs until they are cool enough to touch.

As for the egg-cracking problem - add a tablespoon of vinegar to the water before adding eggs to the pot. I often get cracked eggs out of the coop, and rather than eat them immediately or toss them or try to save the insides for some future use, I just add some vinegar to the water in the pot and it stops the whites from leaking out all over the place. I don't know how it works, but it absolutely does.

And yes, peelability depends on the age of the egg. I always make sure my eggs are at least five or six days old before I boil them. It's difficult for the store egg buying public to be sure how old their eggs are, but I always know.

Here's a little info I give to my egg-buying clients:

Q: Why do farm eggs look so different than store-bought eggs?

A: Most commercial egg producers offer only perfectly shaped and evenly colored eggs for sale. Eggs with uneven or mottled color, freckles, bumps on the shell, etc., are just as delicious and every bit as safe to eat as the pretty, perfect eggs.

In addition, all eggs have a natural protective coating called bloom, which helps preserve freshness by reducing evaporation, and prevents bacteria from being drawn through the egg’s 6000-plus pores. The bloom often gives eggs a mottled, dusty, or unwashed appearance. Commercial egg producers wash their eggs vigorously with chemicals that dissolve the bloom and reveal the true color of the shell. To replace natural bloom, commercial producers spray shells with a thin film of mineral oil, which is why store-bought eggs often look shiny.

Q: How long can I store my eggs?

A: Believe it or not, with the proper conditions (30 degrees/85% humidity), eggs can safely be stored up to nine months without any loss of flavor or health benefits! In a standard household refrigerator, where foods tend to dry out, eggs can be safely stored for two months at temperatures up to 55 degrees, where the relative humidity is close to 75%. Clean eggs stored at 45 degrees and minimum 75% humidity will keep well for at least three months. To increase humidity in your refrigerator, fill a plastic milk jug or 2-liter soda bottle with water and store it in the refrigerator with the cap off. To prevent unnecessary moisture loss, always store eggs in the carton.

Q: Can I eat an egg with a blood spot in it?

A: Absolutely! Blood spots occur when blood or a bit of tissue is released along with a yolk. Each developing yolk in a hen’s ovary is enclosed inside a sac containing blood vessels that supply yolk-building nutrients. When the yolk is mature, it is normally released from a small area of the yolk sac that is free of blood vessels. Occasionally the yolk sac ruptures at some other point, causing vessels to break and blood to appear on the yolk or in the white. This is perfectly normal and is not a sign of a “bad egg.” As an egg ages, the blood spot becomes paler, so a bright blood spot is a sign that the egg is fresh.

Q: I got an egg with two yolks! How does this happen?

A: Double-yolkers appear when ovulation occurs too rapidly, or when one yolk somehow gets lost, and is joined by the next yolk. Double-yolkers may be laid by a pullet whose production cycle is not yet well synchronized, or by large-breed hens, often as an inherited trait.

Q: Why do [my egg business name] eggs come in so many different colors?

A: Our flock includes the following breeds, chosen specifically to produce a wide variety of egg colors: Cuckoo Maran (chocolate brown eggs), Welsummer (speckled brown eggs), Rhode Island Red (light brown eggs), Easter Egger (green eggs), Whiting True Blue (blue eggs), and Leghorn (white eggs). Each dozen contains several eggs from each breed.

Q: How fresh are grocery store eggs?

A: Although both the FDA and USDA have issued regulations for the safe handling, transport, and storage, of eggs, there is no FDA requirement regarding the expiration date of eggs. The law states that a farmer has 30 days to carton an egg and another 30 days to sell that cartoned egg; there is no law regarding how long the eggs may sit on a grocery store shelf. This means the average grocery store egg could be upwards of 60 days old by the time you buy it.
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