The egg is a remarkable culinary ingredient, never out of season, economical, and treasured by all the great cuisines of the world. Able to be cooked in a variety of ways makes it a perfect convenience food. In this article I’ll discuss the art of cooking hard-boiled eggs, including choosing the best eggs, the best method to cook them, and the best way of shelling hard-cooked eggs for the Easy Deviled Eggs Recipe

Choosing Eggs

A brown egg may look more wholesome than a white egg or vice versa, depending on personal preference, but the color of the shell is of no culinary significance. It is dedicated by the breed of hen that laid it. What is important for the cook is that the eggs be fresh, except in the case of cooking hard-boiled eggs. For hard-cooked eggs, it's best to use older eggs, like two weeks old or more. Why? Older eggs shell more cleanly. Very fresh eggs have a very small air space at their large end which makes peeling very hard. As an egg ages, the air space at the large end expands, making later peeling easier.

Another consideration when picking eggs has to do with nutrition. If you value your health and overall nutrition, free range eggs are a much healthier choice. Studies have shown that free range eggs have 1/3 less cholesterol, 1/4 less saturated fat, 2/3 more vitamin A, 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids, 3 times more vitamin E and 7 times more beta carotene.

Cooking the Eggs

Hard-boiled eggs are easy and quick to prepare. Eggs in the shell should be cooked over high heat just until the water begins to boil then removed and left to stand until done. Never leave your eggs to boil! If eggs are boiled for any length of time, the yolks will become hard or may turn an unattractive greenish-gray.

The process to full-proof hard-boiled eggs is an easy one. Simply put the eggs in a pan roomy enough to hold them without crowding, with cold water to cover by at least one inch. Next, over high heat, heat the water and eggs until just fully boiling. Once a full boil is achieved, remove the saucepan from the heat, cover tightly and let them stand for 15 minutes. After the time has elapsed, pour off the hot water and run cold water over the eggs to achieve a faster cooling. I let the cold water run over the eggs for ten minutes and add some ice to get them cold fast. This not only stops the cooking process, but it also makes it easier to peel the eggs. Then I put them in the refrigerator for an hour.

Shelling Hard-Cooked Eggs

Like As stated, using older eggs make this job a lot easier. But you can get away with using fresh eggs if you follow my method. First, you want to crack the shells. The easiest way to do this is to place all the eggs in a roomy saucepan again and shake them around. The agitation will break up the shells nicely. Then, to remove the shells, run each egg under cold water and begin to peel off pieces of the shell. I always start at the large end, but it really doesn’t make a difference.