Hard Boiled Eggs

Have you ever wondered why farm fresh hard boiled eggs are so difficult to peel? It is because the acidic level of the egg white it so low that the albumen (egg white) easily sticks to the inner shell membranes. As the egg ages and becomes more porous, air gets into the egg, carbon dioxide is released and the acidity level of the albumen increases, causing it to stick less. Eggs that you purchase in the store, it takes them at least 30 days to go from farm to store shelf. That’s why they peel more easily.

One of the things that I used to just HATE was peeling hard boiled eggs!! Using my farm fresh eggs made the task so difficult that the majority of the time I just didn’t do it. If we wanted deviled eggs for a family party, somebody else could bring them. I don’t think my boys knew what egg salad was and eating a plain hard boiled egg with salt just didn’t happen. I tried all the tricks. Peeling the egg with a spoon, adding vinegar to the cooking water, cooking eggs in the oven. Some worked better than others, but not enough to encourage me to make hard boiled eggs more often. Then one day I was over at my mom’s house and she said, ‘I just read about cooking hard boiled eggs in the electric pressure cooker, do you want to try it?’ And we did. I was amazed!! Not only were the eggs done and lovely, they peeled! No big chunks of egg stuck to the shell. My family…and animals…now enjoy a good hard boiled egg!

Here’s how to do it:  Pour 1 cup of water into your electric pressure cooker or insta-pot. Put a steamer rack down inside and add your eggs. You can do a couple of eggs or a dozen, that doesn’t affect the cooking time. Put your cooker on low pressure for 9 minutes, seal and start. After the cooking time is complete, I let my cooker naturally release for a few minutes and then I quick release the remaining pressure. Put eggs in cold water to stop the cooking process, peel and eat! It’s that simple. It’s harder now to wash the pan than it is to cook the eggs!! Give it a try and let me know what you think. 

My idea of an egg salad sandwich! Yum!