Thanks loads. I think the starting in cold water was one of the first things I ever learned. It wouldn’t explain why I have had some successes and some failures doing it that way. I’ll take a look at the link - thanks a lot.
Who would want to take a chance on letting eggs sit out of refrigeration until they’re old enough to make peeling boiled eggs easier? I would think that would be inviting bacteria and why eggs are kept on refrigerated shelves in stores.
It’s as bad as the hints/advice people hand out to eliminate leg cramps - one I loved was keeping a bar of soap under your bottom sheet. Believe it or not, I actually tried it and whether it worked, I really couldn’t say if it did or if it was mind over matter. Actually over the years, I’ve gone from one idea to another. The product on the market now (Theraworx) - advertised on TV is a big help but I think Vitamin B Complex is doing it better!
The reason for your mixed success is probably that you’ve had newer and older batches of eggs without really paying attention to it. The same method — starting with cold water — can yield drastically different results depending on the eggs. New eggs that the grocer stocked in his cooler just yesterday will be a bear to peel. Eggs that have been sitting in the cooler (or your refrigerator) for several weeks will peel easily. You don’t have to take the eggs out of refrigeration for them to become old. The consistency of the albumen changes over time even when they’re chillin’ in the fridge. For whatever reason, the membrane doesn’t seem to adhere as readily to the runnier whites in older eggs which makes them easier to peel.