hard-boiled

I love how they glisten and shine when they're done...

little jewels!

I wish I could make a necklace out of them!

& just for fun, here's our

'heart-boiled' egg:

So, lesson be learned:  the only downside

about having such an abundance of fresh eggs is that

the finest, freshest eggs don't hard-boil well... 

They're a nightmare to peel.  In the process,

 precious egg gets wasted because it sticks like super glue to the shell.

The moral of the story is:

if you have farm or backyard fresh eggs,

use your freshest eggs for frying, cooking and baking

and set aside some eggs to age for at least 2 weeks to hard boil.

Here are some directions I found for how to make a great hard boiled egg

and how to avoid that greenish ring that can come around the yolk:

1. Place eggs in a saucepan with enough COLD tap water to cover completely by 1 inch. Bring to a ROLLING boil over HIGH heat. Once the water is brought to a rolling boil, PROMPTLY reduce heat to a lower medium boil and cook an additional 10 minutes for a “hard boiled” egg.

2. Remove from heat and IMMEDIATELY place eggs under ice cold water or in a bowl of ICED water to chill promptly to help yolks stay bright yellow. Chill for a few minutes in the cold water until the egg is completely cooled. This is an extremely important step which prevents the greenish “ring” from forming on the surface of the yolk over time. If the egg is not chilled immediately after cooking an unsightly dark greenish ring will eventually appear on the outside of the yolk.

3. To peel...crack on all sides, roll egg between hands to loosen shell, and remove shell. Enjoy, with a light sprinkling of salt if desired.

Refrigeration is necessary for hard boiled eggs if the eggs are not to be consumed within a few hours.
Refrigerated boiled eggs, kept in the shell, can be kept for up to 1 week.
 

p.s. We also like to dip our whole hard-boiled eggs in aioli, miso, or tahini

We also sprinkle them in salad, on top of soup (especially borscht) --

add slices of them to BLTs, make endless variations of egg salad and deviled eggs...

They're so versatile, you're only limited by your imagination!