What is Hakata tonkotsu ramen and why it is so popular?
Have you felt frustrated when peeling boiled eggs? The eggshells were stuck tightly to the white. Would you need to pick out tiny pieces of eggshells a little by little? And have you damaged the eggs because the eggshells removed took a chunk of the white with them?
Peeling boiled eggs can be stressful and time-consuming. And it may need your focus and engagement if you want to peel them cleanly without damaging them. In this article, we will share guaranteed methods to cook eggs so that you can have clean peeled boiled eggs with no stress.
Mastering peeling boiled eggs with little damage
We have become a master of peeling boiled eggs as we have cooked and peeled tens of thousands of eggs. We have experimented different eggs when trying to find ways to peel boiled eggs without damaging them.
To peel boiled eggs well, we first had to understand more about chicken eggs. Then we experimented how we cook them.
Fresher eggs are harder to peel
Have you ever thought about how old eggs you buy are? When you see them at a supermarket, can we know when they were laid? It turns out how many days passed since eggs were laid makes them difficult or easy to peel.
To understand it, we need to see the structure of an egg. Inside an eggshell, there is an external and internal membranes surrounding the white. When eggs are a few days old after they were laid, they are difficult to peel without damage.
When eggs are fresh, the pH level of the white is relatively low, making it acidic. When cooked, the white sticks strongly to the internal membrane. But as eggs age, the pH level rises and the inner membrane is less likely to stick. It is much easier to peel. So, we found that it is important to pick eggs that are 7 to 10 days old after being laid. You can store fresh eggs in a refrigerator until they age.
How we cook eggs matter to how you can peel them
If you store eggs in a refrigerator, you may want to take them out before cooking. To bring out consistent results, we want to have eggs at a similar temperature. Then we prepare a pot of boiling water. (For a pot used for boiling eggs, we may want to use a pot that is not too deep. Deep enough for eggs to submerge.)
Temperature is critical. When placing eggs in the pot, gently place them. As eggs lower the temperature of cooking water, we want to bring the temperature back up as quickly as we can. But we want to keep the cooking water simmering (not rolling boiling as it may break or burst eggs).
Control cooking temperature and time to achieve your desired eggs
How long you cook eggs depends on the doneness you want. For marinated eggs, popular toppings of ramen shops, the cooking time should be around 6 to 7 minutes.
We should also need to understand that the yolk and white cook at different temperatures. Yolk at 65 degrees Celsius. White at 80 degrees Celsius. To achieve the desired results, we want to control temperature (using a thermometer) and time (using a timer).
Chilling cooked eggs to get the right doneness
Placing cooked eggs in a bath of iced water stops cooking of eggs. Otherwise, eggs keep cooking, further solidifying the proteins of the whites and yolks.
It also helps eggs peel easier. When chilling eggs, the internal membrane shrink and move away from the eggshells. The space between the internal membrane and eggshells widen, making eggs easier to peel.
One small preparing task that makes your eggs beautiful
After understanding the structure of an egg, we realized the importance of a small preparation task when improving the damage rate.
At the large end of an egg, there is a space, called “air cell”. When cooking eggs, this air escapes through the pores of an egg but not before the while solidifies. We end up having a flat end on an egg (where the air cell is).
Piercing a hole on this end (the long end) before cooking eggs makes a round end. You can make a hole with a pin, but there is a tool that you can use to make the hole with ease and speed.
If you master and apply these methods, you should be able to make beautiful boiled peeled eggs with consistency. You may want to start selling more of delicious, boiled eggs that provide many nutritional benefits.
If you want to learn more about it, please feel free to contact us.
