Submitted by D.B. Campbell
Yes, I guess there needs to be a recipe for something as simple as boiling an egg. I believe some of the confusion comes from the misguided name; Hard Boiled Egg. There are many ways to hard boil an egg out there; this is mine. And it all makes sense once you understand the science.
As the advertising goes, “The Incredible Edible Egg!” This seems to echo Mother Nature, thousands of years of human civilization, and real science. Oh, yes. We all remember the big headlines back in the ‘80s “EGGS CONTAIN CHOLESTEROL!” and the resulting billions of dollars lost to the egg industry. But how many remember the back page small article stating, “Gee. We were wrong. There is both good and bad cholesterol. Eggs have both in the best ratio, and you actually need both to have proper health and blood system operation.”
My poor Mother-in-Law was one of those that did what her doctor told her and 
choked down “Gee I Wish I Was A Real Egg - Beaters” for years. And all the while she was seeing no real change in her cholesterol numbers for all the heartache. (Bad pun there, sorry)
There are now hundreds of bona fide long term studies that shame the ‘junk science’ and prove that Mother Nature was right all along. Even the most cursory of internet searches will find plenty of these studies proving eggs raise the good cholesterol that the body needs to fight the bad. Now I hear some folks saying that their shamefaced doctors have changed from “no eggs” to “eggs in moderation.”
Well shoot! It has only been 20 years and I guess saying that is less embarrassing than saying, “I’m sorry for messing up your life for years on bad information that was never checked out.”
All things should be in moderation. Wine is very good for you with all the antioxidants, but not at three bottles a night. And many folks eliminated fat and oil from their diet only to find their joints do not work since they have no ‘lubrication’ anymore. But I digress. Back to eggs.
The unappetizing green tinge of some hard boiled eggs is due to the chemical 
reaction between the iron and sulfur when cooked at high heat. So, don’t boil the eggs. You don’t really need to anyway. And sometimes when you try to peel a hard boiled egg it is agony on the fingers and hard to peel. You seem to lose half the egg with the shell. It is all in the egg's age and the membrane.
All eggs have a membrane which is like the inside seal to protect the egg. A newly laid egg has a nice tight membrane and as the egg ages the membrane inside starts to separate from the shell. But, as the egg ages flavor starts to drop. So, what is the secret best timing? A week is all we’re talking here. The recipe attached uses the science to all make it easy.
All this brings to mind a small incident that I still remember to this day. I had just been stationed in the Republic of Korea, U.S./UN Forces Command as one of the few Naval Officers. I was living in a one room BOQ cage with a small fridge and hot plate before I got housing approval and Laura could join me to start our family. Eggs were easy to cook and I took ‘hard boiled’ eggs along with my PB&J sandwiches for lunch. Captain Dennis was a co-worker in Comptroller Office who had three boys ages 13, 11, and 8. These were great kids and all BOY; before we knew to drug boys for being real boys.
One day I cracked my lunch egg and the shell popped open like a hotdog bun. It was off but still all in one piece. It was cool! Dennis saw it and thought it was cool enough that he took it home to show his boys. The boys thought a peeled egg all in one piece was cool also. I guess it’s a ‘Y’ chromosome thing.
One other thing I remember about Captain Dennis was his family was one of the first to buy a TRS-80 home game computer. Remember those? Anyway, the boys played constantly and one of the games was where you had to run around and stop a nuclear reactor from going critical. Dennis told of playing one evening with the three boys crowded around him giving advice. As the clock ticked down to destruction he had all the boys shouting, “Dad, you’re doing it wrong!” “You have to go there!” “Dad, you have to do something!” And he did; he got up and walked away. Dennis said the look on their stunned faces was priceless. One finally stammered, “You can’t just walk away.”
“Sure I can. It’s just a game.”
The Perfect Hard Boiled Egg
(Remember the membrane.)
1. Put eggs in a large enough pot to cover with 2 inches of cold water.
2. Bring the water to a SIMMER only.
3. Cover and remove from heat.
4. Let stand for a minimum of 15 minutes; longer for larger eggs.
5. Drain hot water from the pot.
6. Roll the eggs around banging them into the sides of the empty pot to crack the shells. Easy does it.
7. Fill pot with cold water (the colder the better) and let stand until eggs are cool to the touch. The cold water will seep into the egg and insure the separation of the shell.
8. Peel and rinse if needed. It will be a joy.
9. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Eggs will absorb other tastes fast.
