# Hard Boiled Eggs



## Shipbuilder

Whenever I make hard-boiled eggs, it seems to be pure chance as to whether the shells come off cleanly, or remove huge lumps of the white!

When I visit the supermaket, there are bowls of shelled hard-boiled eggs without a blemish on them!

When I was at sea, on deck barbeques etc there was often a dish of hard boiled eggs that had been shelled cleanly, so it can be done!

Is there a secret method that any of you is prepared to share?

Bob


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## kevjacko

Shipbuilder said:


> Whenever I make hard-boiled eggs, it seems to be pure chance as to whether the shells come off cleanly, or remove huge lumps of the white!
> 
> When I visit the supermaket, there are bowls of shelled hard-boiled eggs without a blemish on them!
> 
> When I was at sea, on deck barbeques etc there was often a dish of hard boiled eggs that had been shelled cleanly, so it can be done!
> 
> Is there a secret method that any of you is prepared to share?
> 
> Bob


Try cooking the eggs from room temperature Bob


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## Pat Kennedy

The secret is to dunk the hard boiled egg in very cold water immediately after boiling. Some people advise a teaspoon of baking soda in the cold water helps.
Crack the egg at the tip, then the round end, and peel from there, it should come off easily.
Pat(Smoke)


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## Shipbuilder

My current method is to start them from cold and leave heat on for 5 minutes. Then turn heat off for 8 minutes. Boil for 5 minutes, dump in icy water for a few seconds, crack ends and put back on boil for another five minutes. This is best method so far, but today have just done five of them with erratic results. One peeled OK. Other four now missing lumps of white!
Bob


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## Shipbuilder

Pat,
Your reply crossed with mine. That is more-or-less what I am doing, but forgot to say I added a bit of salt as well.
Bob


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## sparkie2182

This is MJ territory...........The High Priest of the boiled egg (hard).


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## Pat Kennedy

sparkie2182 said:


> This is MJ territory...........The High Priest of the boiled egg.


He will be looking at the Premiership league table and weeping!
(==D)


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## John Rogers

Pat Kennedy said:


> He will be looking at the Premiership league table and weeping!
> (==D)


Pat,
I just returned from a cruise of Hawaii,the ship loaded in Vancouver and most the passengers were from Canada,to my surprise there were many people from Liverpool and Newcastle.We made friends with a couple that left Liverpool in 1964,he was of course a Liverpool fan and all he did was talk football with the Indonesian waiters, and they were always up on the scores and followed football very close. His name was John Elliott and he came from the Gramby area he also mentioned Upper Parliament,you may know the area. His wife Rita Jones, her father spent 40 years at sea sailing out of Liverpool.
We spent every happy hour together,the guy was a riot,full of jokes.


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## michael charters

*No Yoke?*



John Rogers said:


> Pat,
> I just returned from a cruise of Hawaii,the ship loaded in Vancouver and most the passengers were from Canada,to my surprise there were many people from Liverpool and Newcastle.We made friends with a couple that left Liverpool in 1964,he was of course a Liverpool fan and all he did was talk football with the Indonesian waiters, and they were always up on the scores and followed football very close. His name was John Elliott and he came from the Gramby area he also mentioned Upper Parliament,you may know the area. His wife Rita Jones, her father spent 40 years at sea sailing out of Liverpool.
> We spent every happy hour together,the guy was a riot,*full of jokes*.


No Yoke?


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## Pat McCardle

I boil the water, NO SALT, this seems to make them crack? Then boil for 10 mins, dump water & have cold running water overflowing the pan for a minute. I crack the eggs through the middle, rolling them in my hands. Always come clean for me.


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## Pat Kennedy

John Rogers said:


> Pat,
> I just returned from a cruise of Hawaii,the ship loaded in Vancouver and most the passengers were from Canada,to my surprise there were many people from Liverpool and Newcastle.We made friends with a couple that left Liverpool in 1964,he was of course a Liverpool fan and all he did was talk football with the Indonesian waiters, and they were always up on the scores and followed football very close. His name was John Elliott and he came from the Gramby area he also mentioned Upper Parliament,you may know the area. His wife Rita Jones, her father spent 40 years at sea sailing out of Liverpool.
> We spent every happy hour together,the guy was a riot,full of jokes.


John, 
I know the Granby Street area quite well, its pretty lively down there to say the least! My late wife had a grandmother who lived in Granby Street and we visited every Sunday for years. All the old lady's neighbours were Jamaican, and they looked after her like she was one of their own. She always had a couple of bottles of Red Stripe in the fridge for me. A great neighborhood.
Regards, 
Pat(Jester)


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## Shipbuilder

Pat,
Thanks for that. Do I get the water boiling and then put the eggs in, or start it from cold with them already in it? I will try this method next time we have them, that is usually Sunday evening.
Bob


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## Pat Kennedy

And on a related topic, put the eggshells into the coffee pot, makes coffee taste superb.
Pat


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## trotterdotpom

Pat McCardle: "I boil the water, NO SALT, this seems to make them crack? Then boil for 10 mins, dump water & have cold running water overflowing the pan for a minute. I crack the eggs through the middle, rolling them in my hands. Always come clean for me."

My mother reckoned that if you put salt into the water it stopped the egg white from running out of the egg if the shell happened to crack. Seems to work - Mum's know best!

Pat Kennedy: "And on a related topic, put the eggshells into the coffee pot, makes coffee taste superb."

If you haven't got any eggs can you just wipe the inside of the pot with a parson's nose?

Being fairly eggcentric, I eat dozens of boiled eggs. I just crack the egg and roll it on a hard surface. The shattered shell usually peels off easily, but occasionaly one doesn't and I put that down to something to do with the egg itself and out of my control.

Recently I've found some eggs with two or three discoloured rings on the shell, from top to bottom of the egg. Could this be due to a period of vitamin D deficiency during a difficult birth? Perhaps they should be considering Caesarian Sections for chooks.

John T

PS Good news for egg lovers - they're back in favour on telly this morning. Turns out they're packed with goodies. What's a bit of cholesterol between friends.


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## John Rogers

My wife does the same thing John except before she puts them in the boiling water she puts them in a little gadget that needle *****s both ends.


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## oilkinger

I don't get too technical in de-shelling a boiled egg. After cooking I run cold water over them to cool them down.
I then crack the shell and peel whilst running luke warm water over them.
Shell comes off easily.


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## PatriciaAnnT

I haven't read through all of the posts, but as one who has chickens I think I can answer this. Older eggs will peel easier than fresh eggs. Reason? As the eggs gets older a layer of air forms between the membrane and the egg, hence a cleaner peel. Fresher the egg, the messier the peel.


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## trotterdotpom

John Rogers said:


> My wife does the same thing John except before she puts them in the boiling water she puts them in a little gadget that needle *****s both ends.


Reminds me of "blowing" birds eggs when I was a kid. We used to get the eggs from birds nests, ***** (I meant pierce) them at both ends and blow the "stuff" out of them, so that the eggshell could be kept. Not sure why we did this, seemed like a good idea at the time. One time, the school teacher made a nature table and we were all supposed to bring something. A few kids brought "blown" eggs, so to be different I brought about 20 nests. She went berserk! You can't please some people. All this was long before Global Warming, Habitat Destruction, Sea Shepherd and all that. 

What can I say? You can't make an omelette without f***king a chook. I do recall that Blackbirds had blue eggs.

John T


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## R58484956

As PAT says its the age of the egg.


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## Shipbuilder

Thanks for further replies. I have wondered if the age of the egg was something to do with it. At sea, eggs were usually quite old because of the nature of the job and they always seemed to peel easily. I will try slightly older eggs next time, together with other suggestions above.
Bob


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## Derek Roger

The age is the key ; fresh eggs will be difficult to peel .


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## Mick Spear

Pat K and Pat M have it right in my opinion. Just run cold water over the eggs straight away for a few minutes and all will be fine. Roll the egg along a board or bench and the shell will just come away fro the egg.
Mick S


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## PatriciaAnnT

Derek Roger said:


> The age is the key ; fresh eggs will be difficult to peel .


(Thumb)(Thumb)


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## MARINEJOCKY

Shipbuilder, why get all worried, I would fire the staff if they gave me hard boiled eggs with bits missing (joking Boatman)

Sparkie & Pat K., nice one boys, I was indeed watching the league tables to make sure the cup winners gave at least something to their minor neighbours to brag about. Tell me though what does it feel like to win nothing and to end up 7th in the league and still think you have achieved something. 

Oh go on then brag a little if it makes you feel better. 

Pat K., what made you put egg shells into a coffee pot in the first place. Things like that make me wonder who does that type of thing in the first place and why. 

....and what is all this about boiling 8 mins, off for 5 back on for what ever, then off again, blowing and sucking, *****ing as well. Put half a dozen in cold water, a wee bit of vinegar, bring to the boil, wait for 6 minutes, stick under the cold tap (faucet), bang and roll them, peel and do not worry about any bits missing, plenty of salt, throw the egg shells away (do not listen to Pat K's BS.) and fart away & be merry.


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## Mad Landsman

In wine-making crushed egg shells are one of many 'fining agents'.
Finings are substances used to improve clarity and reduce unwanted organic compounds in the wine. Egg shells are particularly used in white wines of the non-grape varieties. 

So maybe the person who tried adding egg shells to coffee was a wine maker who had one of those cross-over moments. 

Remember when we used to able to buy white shelled eggs, as well as the now ubiquitous brown?
White shells are softer and more fragile - not much good for boiling because they are more apt to burst, but I always thought that the actual egg was better for all other cooking purposes.


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## Malcolm S

One way to remove the shell from a hard boiled egg is to crack an opening in each end, place one end to your mouth and blow. Catch the egg as it comes out, wash and enjoy! 
It work, trust me!

Malcolm


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## John Rogers

Why not just just boil them and dip your toast into them,or break them and fry the the things.


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## MARINEJOCKY

*confusion*



Malcolm S said:


> One way to remove the shell from a hard boiled egg is to crack an opening in each end, place one end to your mouth and blow. Catch the egg as it comes out, wash and enjoy!
> It work, trust me!
> 
> Malcolm


Please note that this Malcolm (MarineJocky) has nothing to do with the above Malcolm :sweat:


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## PatriciaAnnT

*Little known and little cared about egg/chicken facts*

A chicken lays an egg about every 36 hours. Their productivity is based on daylight and their age. Chickens are most productive in the first 4 years of their life. But that needs to be qualified. The large
Egg farms keep lights on their hens during the dark. This increases their productivity but cuts down on
heir duration of productivity. So the large producers will only keep a hen for about 2 years. An egg is a very good bench mark for a hen’s diet. The thinner the shell , the less calcium it is getting. I supplement with oyster shell to insure a hard egg shell. The deeper the colour of the yolk, the healthier the diet. If the yolk is a deep yellow/orange, it contains more Omega 3. Chickens need protein but are seldom given it. Free range chickens will get their protein eating bugs and worms. When kept in cages they are given only grain and no supplements, hence the pale yolks and thin shells. I give them all of my table scraps, including meat. They devour it. And they will devour each other. The little things are cannibals. Watching their pecking order is much like SN. Some lay in wait to observe a ***** in other’s armour and then they attack. ………..me included.


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## John Rogers

PatriciaAnnT said:


> A chicken lays an egg about every 36 hours. Their productivity is based on daylight and their age. Chickens are most productive in the first 4 years of their life. But that needs to be qualified. The large
> Egg farms keep lights on their hens during the dark. This increases their productivity but cuts down on
> heir duration of productivity. So the large producers will only keep a hen for about 2 years. An egg is a very good bench mark for a hen’s diet. The thinner the shell , the less calcium it is getting. I supplement with oyster shell to insure a hard egg shell. The deeper the colour of the yolk, the healthier the diet. If the yolk is a deep yellow/orange, it contains more Omega 3. Chickens need protein but are seldom given it. Free range chickens will get their protein eating bugs and worms. When kept in cages they are given only grain and no supplements, hence the pale yolks and thin shells. I give them all of my table scraps, including meat. They devour it. And they will devour each other. The little things are cannibals. Watching their pecking order is much like SN. Some lay in wait to observe a ***** in other’s armour and then they attack. ………..me included.


Pat, are you saying their are some old Cluckers on SN[=P]


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## MARINEJOCKY

No, she was talking about hens and not mentioning anything about cock's.


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## sparkie2182

Subtle as ever......MJ......subtle as ever.


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## MARINEJOCKY

I try my boy. 

...anyway the staff have my perfectly shelled hard boiled eggs ready by the pool so I am off for a swim and no doubt will be powered by some high octane gas pretty soon. 

Now there is a thing, do men f--t more than women and do hard boiled eggs produce more lethal gas than baked beans or is the smell different.


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## sparkie2182

The Floridian literary sophistication of Hemingway has obviously not been lost on you, MJ............

A Pulitzer prize awaits.


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## Pat Kennedy

MARINEJOCKY said:


> I try my boy.
> 
> ...anyway the staff have my perfectly shelled hard boiled eggs ready by the pool so I am off for a swim and no doubt will be powered by some high octane gas pretty soon.
> 
> Now there is a thing, do men f--t more than women and do hard boiled eggs produce more lethal gas than baked beans or is the smell different.


Mythbusters recently did a show all about this subject recently. Very revealing.
Pat[=P]


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## John Rogers

MARINEJOCKY said:


> I try my boy.
> 
> ...anyway the staff have my perfectly shelled hard boiled eggs ready by the pool so I am off for a swim and no doubt will be powered by some high octane gas pretty soon.
> 
> Now there is a thing, do men f--t more than women and do hard boiled eggs produce more lethal gas than baked beans or is the smell different.


This post can be added to the "Aromas of Seafaring"B\)


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## Ron Stringer

On the big rock-candy mountain, the hens laid soft-boiled eggs.


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## PatriciaAnnT

John Rogers said:


> Pat, are you saying their are some old Cluckers on SN[=P]


There is definitely a pecking order here. (Jester)


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## spongebob

John Rogers said:


> Pat, are you saying their are some old Cluckers on SN[=P]


John, I am sure there are quite a few old roosters that are going through the moult.

Bob


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## kewl dude

I find this an interesting thread since recently I added a daily hard boiled egg to my lunch salad. I asked Google how to neatly peal them and learned the secret is a spoon the size of the egg. 

Start at either end and tap a small place with the tip of the spoon. Then slip the tip of the spoon between the egg and the shell and just rotate the egg and the shell either peels like an orange or comes off in large chunks. Press the concave portion of the spoon against the egg to protect it. 

I boil a dozen at a time then store them in my refrigerator in the carton they came in peeling one each day.

Greg Hayden


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## trotterdotpom

That seems to have an unnecessary deggree of complegcity, Gregg!

However, it reminds me of a tip for anyone wanting to eat two soft boiled eggs. In order to stop the one you are not eating from going hard while you are engaged with the other one, tap the top of the egg-in-waiting and just crack the shell. This is known as "letting the devil out" and it also releases some of the heat.

Anything else you need to know, just ask the eggspert.

John T


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## robin

I can now recall, after some 50 years on, the time when after turning to in the middle of the night I came into the pantry to find a number of the crew tucking into all the food left out for us working party. So next time I gave them their come-uppence. I placed two eggs in a pair of socks and hung them in the water boiler, as usual the lads were their drinking their tea and feasting on our food, so I lifted out my now clean socks and hard-boiled eggs and hoped that their tea was a little stronger for my efforts ! Never saw them nicking food there again ??
Robin.


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## 40907

This is all SO embarrassing for the poor chicken. Have you guys no shame?

It's an EGG for fvck sake! It has a shell - deal with it! (egg)


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## tom roberts

On this subject of boiled eggs it reminds me of the best egg sarnies I have ever tasted,they were made by the ladies who worked at the Liverpool Sailors Home in the 1950s,many of us old Indefatigable boys who were always hungry will remember them I am sure.Carrying on this subject ,my second wife asked me how I liked my boiled eggs,I told her I got the water to boil took the pan off the gas put the eggs in and let them boil for 4 mins,she served them up when I cracked them open they were runny not cooked I asked her what she had done she insisted she had followed my way except that she didnt put the pan back on the gas, lucky for me wife no3 is a great cook.


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## Varley

How many chances did No.2 get at the eggs before she became the ex? - A bit extreme even for a misogynist fossil like me.


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## barrinoz

I'm with Reef Knot here! Some of you guys are (were) ticketed, yeah? Shelling eggs is a challenge? (K)
barrinoz.


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## trotterdotpom

Wait till they get onto peeling spuds, Baz - they'll be fingerless wrecks rocking in the corner! Who boils an egg just so they can put the shell in the coffee without a bit of stringy white floating on the surface? Is it true that MJ has stopped buying pre-shelled eggs because he's seen a niche market for egg shells? Watch the Nescafé labels!

John T


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## Andrew Craig-Bennett

Yes, older eggs peel better. Agree start with eggs at room temp, boil, plunge in cold water. 

Fresh eggs best boiled, poached, fried (the white stays close to the yolk in the pan).

Older eggs better for cakes and hard boiled.


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## tom roberts

Varley no2 ended up harder than anyboiled egg I ever knew,she pulled more fellas than the Flying Scot pulled carriages and I was the silly bugger in the guards van but she was fun along the way at least tho she couldnt cook she sure could,the rest you can rhyme to cook.


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## 40907

Hey Tom, I'm inclined to think that this crowd would have found her easier to deal with than a hard boiled egg! (Thumb)

My #2 was similar. Man, she could make an egg boil hard!! (Jester)


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## commander

Amazing !!!

Two pages already on the subject of hard boiled eggs.
My immediate thought on reading your opening post was
what part of the miniature ship building art involves hard boiled eggs?

As an aside I recall one breakfast time on the good old RMS St. Helena en route from Ascension to Port Stanley when one of the army officer passengers asked for lightly boiled eggs. The table steward called over to the chap i/c egg boiling "Two boiled eggs, and don't put much water in"

It's a cracker.


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## alan ward

#15 *****s both ends?sounds like coming alongside on a Cunard boat.


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## Varley

Cruel! and why did you deploy your egg preparation specialists for mooring duty?


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## Shipbuilder

Thanks for all replies - amazing response. I am spoilt for choice when I do the next lot on Sunday.

Commander,
You have now made me think. I can probably find a use for shells somewhere in miniature ships. I already used empty ostrich eggs for moulding the sails around on sailing ships to give a wind-filled effect. With a choice of curve, they are ideal.

Maybe I could use a hen egg shell for the sail itself if I could cut it smoothly with a cutting wheel.

Bob


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## len mazza

My late mother swore blind that she had one daily help who couldn't boil an egg,another one had no idea how to make porridge,needless to say they both got short shift from the old girl.


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## John Dryden

Egg shells do no harm anyway...trust me I,m a crap cracker of the bloody things.


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## Pat Kennedy

len mazza said:


> My late mother swore blind that she had one daily help who couldn't boil an egg,another one had no idea how to make porridge,needless to say they both got short shift from the old girl.


Apparently Winston Churchill on being asked could he cook, replied;
"I can boil an egg, I've seen it done."

Pat(Jester)


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## alan ward

Reef Knot said:


> Hey Tom, I'm inclined to think that this crowd would have found her easier to deal with than a hard boiled egg! (Thumb)
> 
> My #2 was similar. Man, she could make an egg boil hard!! (Jester)


I just couldn`t No1 to thicken sauces.She`d make chilli or bolognaise,dish it up and the pasta or rice would be in the middle of the plate with the meat in the c entre of the pile with the thin watery liquid running round the rim of the plate.Whenever I raised the subject it wasn`t pleasant.Lovely girl but not a cook.


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## Mick Spear

alan ward said:


> #15 *****s both ends?sounds like coming alongside on a Cunard boat.


(Applause) Very good Alan!
Mick S


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## William Clark8

*Shelling Eggs*



Shipbuilder said:


> Whenever I make hard-boiled eggs, it seems to be pure chance as to whether the shells come off cleanly, or remove huge lumps of the white!
> 
> When I visit the supermaket, there are bowls of shelled hard-boiled eggs without a blemish on them!
> 
> When I was at sea, on deck barbeques etc there was often a dish of hard boiled eggs that had been shelled cleanly, so it can be done!
> 
> Is there a secret method that any of you is prepared to share?
> 
> Bob



Cool off in cold water then roll them till Shell cracks and egg should
fall out in a oner[=P]


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## Dickyboy

Supermarkets use shellless eggs.


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## 40907

Oh hells bells! 2 and a half years later and they bring this old egg out of the closet again - to what end? How many pages of discussion does it take to skin an egg? (Ouch)


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## PatriciaAnnT

Reef Knot said:


> Oh hells bells! 2 and a half years later and they bring this old egg out of the closet again - to what end? How many pages of discussion does it take to skin an egg? (Ouch)


(Jester) You can work all the "magic" you want with a fresh egg. It still won't peel clean. The older the egg, the cleaner it peels.


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## 40907

PatriciaAnnT said:


> (Jester) You can work all the "magic" you want with a fresh egg. It still won't peel clean. The older the egg, the cleaner it peels.


I peel clean - my wife insists on cleanly peeled potatoes but I resent being referred to as an old e.... 'Ang on a moment! Are you talking about 'old eggs' or 'old fruit of the chicken'? (EEK)


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## trotterdotpom

This is a thread from wayback. What's happened to the Florida Think Tank, he pays ******** to peel his eggs.

John T


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## Michael Taylor

Try putting holes in the ends of the boiled egg and blow into it. Seemed to work for my people in Uruguay!


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## trotterdotpom

Michael Taylor said:


> Try putting holes in the ends of the boiled egg and blow into it. Seemed to work for my people in Uruguay!


Conversely, don't put holes into the end of condoms and blow into them.

John T


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## john blythe

Use eggs that have not been in the fridge. Put them in boiling salted water, and boil for 10 mins .Run under cold water , leave to get cold ,peel no problem


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## bill thompson

Just put a tablespoon of white vinegar in the water.


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## spongebob

trotterdotpom said:


> Conversely, don't put holes into the end of condoms and blow into them.
> 
> John T


John, that comment takes me back to when I was a secondary school boy working after school as a general dog's body at Horsley's Pharmacy in Auckland's Queen Street . The dispensary backed on to a private access lane that ran from Shortland street up between us and the City Club Hotel. 
From about 5pm until closing time we had frequent knocks on the dispensary back door by pub clients who had heightened their libido and magnetism by a few drinks to a stage where they were sure that they were ready to charm all comers and rather than go around the shop front to ask the sales girls for condoms they chose to use this less confronting source. The senior pharmacy apprentice took the calls and with a stern and convincing face he explained to many gullible lads that new Government regulations required every 10 th condom sold in NZ had to have a hole in it in order to increase the country's birth rate.
He sucked quite a few in , some even cancelled their order and some may well have sneaked off to the pub men's room to make an inflationary test.
A lot of youg seamen drank in that pub, you could tell by the accents, and I wonder if anyone on this site ever called!

Bob


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## Donald McGhee

We had our own issue on some ships, stamped with the Board of Trade logo and a SWL, made from inner tubes and requiring lubricating with engine oil; guaranteed to desensitise the most ardent lover!!

How the hell did we digress from hard boiled eggs?

To you and all SNologists, have a good Xmas and may 2015 bring you all health and happiness.


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## spongebob

Donald, it is that TDP sidetracking about blowing eggs. He can lead any thread up the garden path to a new horizon .

Bob


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