I grabbed a couple of eggs earlier today, thinking I had boiled them already and found that I hadn't. So... eggs and toast for dinner! (Had no bacon... d'oh!)

Question one: is there a way to tell boiled eggs from non-boiled ones without cracking them?
(Yes, I should have put boiled ones in a different container.)

I had bought a dozen eggs last night, so I figured I'd boil a few of those this afternoon and have them ready for next week. Into the pot, and all was well.

I had an event to go to this evening. I got back home and found that I had turned the stove eye off, but had forgotten to take the eggs out before I left.

Question two: Have my newly-boiled eggs gone funky while I was out? (About three hours.)

Some days, I give myself the Bonehead Award.

I tend to give them a little shake. You can generally feel the liquid inside them move around if they are not boiled.

That or right on them with a pencil next time :P

A hard boiled egg will spin for a while while a non hard boiled egg will make only a few rotations. Dont ask me how I know that, but I do.
Q2-They should be ok.

To tell if an egg is boiled or not, just set it on a flat surface a give it a spin. A boiled egg will spin and a un-boiled egg will wobble.

I don’t know a certain answer to question 2, but I wouldn’t eat them.

My approach is a bit different I guess. I put my hard boiled eggs (most often a dozen but never more than 14 in a "batch") in an ice water bath right out of the boil. After 15 minutes I peel 'em all and put them in a sealed fridge container. Good for a week or more although they don't last that long usually.

An egg in the shell won't spoil in three hours.

Good morning, all, and thank you for the advice.

These eggs smell like... well... eggs. I ate two of them. If I don't make it back here, you guys will know that it only took 1/6 of an 88-cent dozen eggs to take me out.

(Why 88 cents? I suppose because they're marked Sell By October 20, which is why I figured I'd go ahead and boil a batch of them.)

Why the ice water bath for your boiled eggs, bald1?

quote:

Originally posted by StorminNormin:
To tell if an egg is boiled or not, just set it on a flat surface a give it a spin. A boiled egg will spin and a un-boiled egg will wobble.

I don’t know a certain answer to question 2, but I wouldn’t eat them.

There's another way to tell that I use. Give the egg a good spin, grab it, and then quickly let go. If the egg stops spinning, it's a hard boiled egg. A non-cooked egg will continue to rotate a bit because the liquid inside is still rotating.

^^^^^ This. And they should be fine to eat. Things don't go bad because they get warm. Things go bad because they get warm and bacteria grows on them. Boiling water kills bacteria. If you boiled the eggs, and they stayed under the now sterile water, there is no bacteria to cause a problem. The eggs are sterile until you remove them from the water.

They will be fine.

Spin the eggs on a table. When they fall off, the ones that have to be mopped up were raw. The ones that don't are boiled.

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:
Why the ice water bath for your boiled eggs, bald1?

It helps make them easier to peel without the shell sticking to the egg. The way to boil eggs to where the shell will not stick is to keep the eggs in the fridge while you boil the water. Once the water is boiling, take the eggs out of the fridge and put in the boiling water. Cook for your desired time and then take the eggs out and put in ice water for a at least 5 minutes. Your eggs will peel easily.

Just to note that boiling water doesn't kill ALL bacteria, but the eggs should be fine.

quote:

Originally posted by WaterburyBob:
Just to note that boiling water doesn't kill ALL bacteria, but the eggs should be fine.

Boiling will kill salmonella. Given that that is the main one to worry about with eggs, I wouldn't be at all concerned about these.

It used to be believed that given shells and membranes, eggs were essentially sterile in the shell. We now know that shells are porous and membranes can be infected. Hence eggs sold commercially are handled with great care to prevent bacterial infection including washing and refrigeration. Your risk will go up somewhat with homegrown eggs, but if they were store-bought and kept refrigerated prior to the boiling, the risk is below minimal.

Peel 'em, salt 'em, slather 'em with some Miracle Whip and enjoy.

quote:

Originally posted by StorminNormin:

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:
Why the ice water bath for your boiled eggs, bald1?

It helps make them easier to peel without the shell sticking to the egg. The way to boil eggs to where the shell will not stick is to keep the eggs in the fridge while you boil the water. Once the water is boiling, take the eggs out of the fridge and put in the boiling water. Cook for your desired time and then take the eggs out and put in ice water for a at least 5 minutes. Your eggs will peel easily.

This method is what I've been using for over 40 years. I used to have chickens and fresh eggs were a hard boiling nightmare to peel. Friend of mine taught me this technique and all peeling problems went away. Cooking time for the eggs in the boiling water is 15 minutes.

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:
Why the ice water bath for your boiled eggs, bald1?

Sorry, late to reply. But StorminNormin and Sig Marine nailed it for me!

Here we use salted water with vinegar and place the eggs in already boiling water. Turn the heat down to a simmer and go 13 minutes followed by the aforementioned ice bath.

I did a search of the Net and there seems to be differing opinions on whether to peel immediately or not as the number of days the hard boiled eggs stay "fresh" with peel on or off differs depending on who you listen to. Some even mandate leaving peeled eggs in water that should be changed daily. But the sources that say that either state should last a week is where we threw our hat years ago and to date its been born out. Peeled in an airtight refrigerator container last a week for us no problems.

I've tried many different methods for hard boiling eggs. Old eggs do peel easier, and an ice water bath helps, but nothing was good proof for me until I discovered pressure cooking eggs. 5 minutes at 5# pressure, then heat off for 5 minutes, then release pressure and put in ice water bath. Perfect, easy to peel, hard boiled eggs every time, no matter the age.

In my view, a good use for hard boiled eggs:


1 teaspoon salt
2 medium onions, chopped
1⁄3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon pickling spices



DIRECTIONS
Put the peeled hardboiled eggs in the large jar.
Boil the remaining ingredients together for 5 minutes.
Pour over the eggs in the jar.
Cover; leave on counter overnight.
Keeps in refrigerator for weeks, in theory.
In reality, if you love pickled eggs, these will disappear.


From: http://www.geniuskitchen.com/r...e/pickled-eggs-29150

Q. 1

Smack the egg on the counter.

If it leaks sticky goo, it's not hard boiled.

If it cracks, but nothing comes out, it's hard boiled.

Spinning is for women.


Q. 2

Used to see eggs in the chow hall in a basket all day long.

I used to pocket a couple to snack on during the day. (Carried small salt and pepper shaker and Tabasco.)

I never died. (Even if it smelled like it did...)

So which one is heavier? An egg or a newly hatched chick?