If you are like me, you enjoy having a hard boiled egg on your toast for breakfast or diced up and tossed into a salad.
Peeling that hard boiled egg can be a problem especially if it is fresh.
I have done some research and would like to share a few facts as to why a fresh hard boiled egg is more difficult to peel than one that is several days old.
The peeling of the egg is affected by the pH of the egg white, and so by the egg's freshness. If the pH is below 8.9 as it is in a fresh egg then the inner membrane tends to adhere to the albumen (the egg white), whereas after three days of refrigeration the pH is around 9.2. Sometimes it might take more than three days of refrigeration to get the pH level where the boiled egg is easy to peel. Eggs can be safely stored in the refrigerator for up to a month.
Once you boil the eggs, transfer them immediately to a bowl of ice water, and let them stand for ten minutes to stop the cooking (cold eggs are also easier to peel). To peel an egg, place it on your work surface, and roll it under your palm to crack the shell. Holding the egg under cold running water as you peel it can also help.
If you happen to mix hard-boiled eggs and raw ones, here's how to tell them apart. Spin the egg on its side; if it rotates smoothy and evenly, it's cooked. With a raw egg, the yolk moves inside the shell, throwing off the balance, making the egg wobble instead of spin.
