After yet another frustrating experience attempting to peel a hard boiled egg (egg on the left), I read an article in the latest issue of Cook’s Illustrated that the best way to ensure easy peeling is to steam rather than boil an egg. Needless to say, they went to great length to explain the scientific reasoning behind their claim. I ignored that part and simply set off to see if it was true.

I’m currently playing with a friend’s rice cooker to see if I want to buy one of my own. The cooker has a steaming feature that allows you to steam vegetables, fish,etc. I stood staring at it wondering if I could steam eggs. To be fair, eggs weren’t on their list of items that could be successfully steamed.

Cook’s Illustrated claimed that perfect timing for steaming hard cooked eggs (in a steamer basket over boiling water) was 13 minutes, so following the directions on the cooker for general steaming , I put a couple of eggs in the basket and set the timer. Then I held my breath, hoping that the eggs wouldn’t explode.

Happy to report that they didn’t explode. In fact, they were perfectly cooked. Once they had steamed for the appropriate time, I put them in a bowl of ice cubes and water for about 10 minutes. After their stay in ice water, the peels just slipped off.  What can I say? Yet another exciting day in my kitchen!