Good Eggs

As part of our Easter celebration each year, we have a hard-boiled egg hunt in the back yard. We dye three or four eggs the same color for each person. They only look for their own color during the hunt. Grandma and Grandpa hide the eggs, with varying difficulty, according to age.

We use up all those eggs by making egg salad sandwiches, cutting them up in salads, or eating them plain with a sprinkle of salt. Sometimes, Grandpa makes pickled eggs.

Over the years, I've been given lots of advice, and tried lots of different ways of cooking the eggs.

This is what works best for me:

Fresh eggs that are hard boiled will not peel easily. An egg that is just a day or two old is almost impossible to peel. As eggs age, the shells will peel more easily. Eggs that are at least two weeks old before cooking will be the easiest to peel.

To prevent the eggs from cracking while they cook, use eggs that are at room temperature. If eggs are cold you can prick a tiny air hole in the wider end of each egg with a tack or push pin.
Never add eggs directly to boiling water.

Place large-size eggs, at room temperature, in a saucepan with enough cold tap water to cover completely by one inch. If the eggs sink or stand on their ends they are good eggs. Throw them out if they float. Bring the water to a rolling boil over high heat. Immediately turn off the heat but leave pan on the burner. Cover the pan with a lid and leave for 10 minutes. (One minute longer if you start with cold eggs.) Longer cooking will produce a grayish-green film around the yolk.

Remove the eggs from the hot water with a slotted spoon and plunge them into a sink of ice water. When the eggs are chilled, remove them from the water and dry thoroughly. Keep them refrigerated and they will be good for one week.