them this way in the cartons. Other sources say to store eggs with the pointed end up. Some

experts firmly believe you should store them on their sides. Since that covers all the options, it is

hard to come up with a fourth alternative. Some cooks recommend gently stirring the eggs during

cooking to jiggle any off-centered yolks back into their proper position. I have no

recommendation—I still haven’t found a way to guarantee a perfectly-centered yolk.

Peeling hard-boiled eggs

To peel the shell off both easily and fast, leaving a fully intact egg behind is visually

important for some recipes, especially hors d’oeuvres. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to

remove a shell that won’t let go of the egg white. You end up with an egg that looks like an

outer-space-pitted meteorite.

Let’s look at the physics of what makes one egg peel readily and another cling to the

shell as if its life depended on it. I discussed above the two membranes that is between the shell

and the white. First, the fresher the egg, the stronger the bond of the outside of those two

membranes. With aging, the membranes shrink and the bond weakens. Because of that strong

bond, hard-boiled fresh-laid eggs are the toughest to peel. Once they are about a week old, the

membrane’s bond begins to weaken considerably. That is one thing you don’t need to worry

about when you buy eggs at the supermarket. No eggs are likely to be less than a week old by the

time they hit the supermarket shelf.

Not only their freshness, but the way you cook eggs can also affect the shrinking of the

membrane. First, bring eggs to room temperature before cooking them. Starting with cold eggs

ups the chances of cracking while in the cooking water because there is too much temperature

change. Eggs should warm up in an hour or two on your counter (depending how warm your

kitchen is), or in a pot of very warm water in a few minutes.

Place the eggs in a cooking pot. Fill the pot with water to about an inch above the top of

the eggs. (Adding salt to the water, as some cookbooks recommend, does nothing to aid in

peeling, and it doesn’t help the flavor, either. The salt does not penetrate the shell.) Turn the

burner on high and keep an eye on the pot. As soon as the water starts to boil, put the lid on and

reduce the heat. Simmer in barely bubbling water for 10 minutes.

Remove the eggs from the hot water with a slotted spoon (don’t pour the hot water off

yet), set them in a bowl and run cold water over them for half a minute to give them the shock of

their lives (this helps prevent yolk discoloration, too), then put them back in the hot water for

another half a minute for another shock. Drain the hot water and place the pot under running cold

water until the eggs feel cool, 3 to 4 minutes. The shocks should shrink the fine membranes

enough to separate them from the shells and the eggshell should come off easily, but don’t be in

a hurry. If you have the time, the shell comes off even easier if you let the eggs chill for a few

hours.

The first step in peeling is to place all the eggs in an empty pot, cover with a lid and

shake them gently up and down and side to side, so they bang against the pot and each other.

This shatters the shells into a network of cracks, another help to peel. Be gentle so the eggs

themselves don’t break. The shells are now as easy to remove as freshly blanched tomato skins.

Soaking the eggs in water for half hour after cracking them is also helpful if you have the time.

The water seeps in under the shells, and they almost fall off by themselves. Peeling under

running water or in a large bowl of water is another good idea. Start peeling at the flat end as that

is the end that contains the air pocket. Peel the shells off so the membranes remain with the shell,

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