How can I hard boil eggs without the shells cracking?
Eggs have an air bubble in the large end. Egg shell is porous and if the air is heated slowly it can migrate out through the shell. If the air bubble is heated too rapidly for the air to escape through the shell, it cracks. One sure way to make sure the egg doesn’t crack is to pierce the large end with an egg piercer or a needle. Personally, I got so frustrated trying to get consistent results with hard boiled eggs that my neighbor gave me an egg cooker. I no longer have any problems with cooking or peeling my hard boiled eggs. *whew* Egg cookers can be tough to find, but aren’t generally expensive. (I’ve seen them anywhere from $12-$18.) The one I have will cook 7-8 eggs at a time, depending on size. You can do soft, medium, or hard boiled, and there’s a special insert to do 4 “poached” eggs. (Technically poached eggs are cooked in liquid, rather than steamed, but if you’re using them for something like eggs benedict you’ll never notice the difference.) I’ll never boil an egg again!
