shelling hard boiled eggs.

I think it is parly the freshness of the eggs, but if you cool them at once in cold water and bash them so that the shells crack and let the water under them, it does help.

Cool in water then roll them about on a chopping board with the flat of your hand, the sound is such fun, then peel. Easy peasy.

Don't be gentle when you bash them, give them a really hard smack against kitchen worktop or similar. The shells come off more easily after being hit hard.

Two-thirds fill a long tumbler with cold water and put the hard-boiled egg in. Hand over the top of the glass and shake it up and down vigorously. It does work!

Thanks - such unusual ideas!
But sadly this time I've got roasted eggs instead of hardboiled. Forgot about them, now I've ruined the pan.
They cracked open on their own.
Never mind, next time maybe?

The fresher the eggs the more difficult they are to peel apparently.

My theory is that eggs are fresher these days and they seem harder to peel

Oh I hate it when that happens I never knew it was due to the eggs being fresh I guess I should be grateful my eggs have been very fresh lately .

We have our own hens, and I am delighted to read some of the tips above...we had been holding our eggs for a couple of weeks when we wanted them hard-boiled...which seemed to defeat the 'fresh eggs' idea!

Not technically hard boiled eggs - but my new favourite eggy eat is oven baked egg. This method does away with both the tricksy peeling issue and the characteristic whiff of hard boiling!

You lightly butter a non-stick muffin tin, crack in as many eggs as you need, salt and pepper them and then bake at 180C for about 15 mins. Eat immediately, or cool in the tin. Cooled, they will store in a plastic box in the fridge for up to a week. Use the same way as hard boiled. I love 'em squished on hot buttered toast too.

I love hard boiled eggs I could eat eggs any time.

I love eggs, but hard boiled is my least favourite way of eating them. Soft boiled or creamily scrambled for me.

Pickled.

I crack the shells while they are still hot (I like to live dangerously) and then put them in cold water until they are cold.

Hard boiled, chopped, mixed with cress and mayonnaise. Piled on half a ciabatta roll.

Try using a spoon like in this video

I'm veggie, but could never go vegan 'cos adore eggs, milk & cheese. I suspect that freshness does affect peeling, but I boil, pour cold water over them, hit em hard round the middle so the shell cracks and then just peel off the shell and skin. Seems to work.

Oh TriciaF I'm gutted - I thought I was the only person in the world who has burnt boiled eggs. It was my one claim to culinary originality!

Use the Jamie Oliver method - wrap loosely in a tea towel, roll firmly to crack the shells, unwrap, and the shells are USUALLY free from the eggs.

Crack them well and then hold under the cold tap and the water will go between the membrane and the egg. Hey presto!

Well , there are several ways to peel boiled eggs .
My best two :
1) when they are ready , take them out of the water then put them in some cold water and break the two top of the eggs so the steam get away it will stop the yolk having a "green " rim around it and it also make it easier to peel... you need to find the small membrane between the shell and the eggs and the shells in theory go away easily ...
2)the lazy method , break the top as before then cut them in half , length way and use a tea spoon to take the shells away easy and ready to add to salads

You can only do this for the egg that you are going to eat. I saw it on the internet and it works and amuses the grandchildren. Make a hole about 8mm diameter in the shell at each end and blow as if you were blowing an uncooked egg. Be ready to catch it though.

My tip is from my grand daughter! Similar to Nankate's method. Run cold water over them, crack all over and roll them round between your hands. It loosens the skin inside the shell. Have just tried it with the new laid eggs from my daughter's farm (laid that morning) and it works perfectly!

Hens eggs easy- rolled as above. Quails eggs similar but much smaller of course and you have to be very patient. Nothing looks worse than an imperfect quail's egg. Try gulls eggs too- they are bigger- fishy very interesting taste. Be careful when taking as the gulls get quite cross!