I raise chickens too! Just four Barred Rock hens (free range) at the moment.

Gotta love fresh, free range eggs!

And yep! I've noticed the older eggs are easier to peel.

I heard that overcooking eggs will make the shell more difficult to peel. I think they should be boiled no more than 10 minutes. I have noticed a difference when doing large batches at Easter that some were easy to peel, some were very difficult. Those may have been the ones I forgot to set the timer for!

doroshjt, you beat me to it! I even had the song running throught my head and everything! Now what will I do with this useless information

For the record I grew up in Mass.

white hens lay white eggs, brown hens lay brown eggs. I grew up with chickens. this thread is crazy, all these theories!!

Wowsers! If I only boiled my eggs for 10 min the yolks would still be runny. I've noticed that I have to boil them 15 min exactly for the yolk to be hard but not greyish.

Where you live may have something to do with this. I know at higher altitudes such as here water boils at a different temp and quite a bit of cooking is done differently.

In my opinion, brown eggs have a better flavor. I've had many people tell me that there isn't any difference, except for the color of the shell. My husband can testify to the fact that if someone gives me a plate of eggs, I can tell them what color the shell was. I will always and forever turn up my nose at white eggs. He still thinks I'm crazy. He's from the country and I'm from the city; it's kind of like Green Acres here.

I agree GypsyGirl brown eggs I think taste better

I think I remember hearing somewhere that you are not suppose to boil eggs in a METAL pot . I use the teflon coated kind to boil eggs. Hope that helps!!!
bump

I do the salt in the water, too. It really does work. I also think that older eggs do peel better as well.

Rhonda

Does any one else use an egg cooker similar to this?

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...garden&n=507846

They work great. Make hard boiled eggs very quickly and perfect everytime. I used to cool in cold water after cooking since I was told it would helping peeling and limit the discoloring of the yolk.

From my personal experience, I didn't feel there was any difference in either characteristics.

I raise MANY chickens on my farm. As stated earlier the shell color has no connection with nutrition; however, the chicken's diet does. Free range chickens usually have lighter colored shells (i.e., lighter brown) than their counter parts raised indoor on controlled feed. For example eggs in summer are lighter than in the winter when the chickens spend more time indoor eating processed feed.

You should also be careful not to buy 'Free Run' eggs thinking that you are getting 'Free Range' eggs. 'Free Range' means that the chickens are free to roam outside and scavenge for feed. 'Free Run' means that the chickens are not in individual cages and can roam around an open pen inside a building. 'Free Run' chickens never see daylight. Hope this helps.

Here is a recipe for boiling eggs that works great:

The Perfect Hard Boiled Egg

1 to 4 Eggs 2 Quarts Water
12 Eggs 3½ Quarts Water
24 Eggs 6 Quarts Water

High (not wide) Saucepan with cover
Bowl w/ice cubes & water (large enough tocompletely cover eggs)

The water should cover the eggs by 1 inch, so use a tall pan, and limit
cooking to 2 dozen eggs at a time.

Lay the eggs in the pan and add the amount of cold water specified. Set over high heat and bring just to the boil; remove from heat, cover the pan, and let sit exactly 17 minutes.

When the time is up, transfer the eggs to the bowl of ice cubes and
water. Chill for 2 minutes while bringing the cooking water to the boil
again. (This 2 minute chilling shrinks the body of the egg from the shell.)

Transfer the eggs (6 at a time only) to the boiling water, bring to the
boil again, and let boil for 10 seconds - this expands the shell from the
egg. Remove eggs, and place back into the ice water.

Chilling the eggs promptly after each step prevents that dark line from
forming, and if time allows, leave the eggs in the ice water after the last
step for 15 to 20 minutes. Chilled eggs are easier to peel, as well.

The peeled eggs will keep perfectly in the refrigerator, submerged in water in an uncovered container, for 2 to 3 days.

NOTE: The perfect hard boiled egg has a tender white, and a yolk properly set. There is not the faintest darkening of yolk where the white encircles it (a chemical reaction caused by too much heat in the cooking process). Eggs cooked this way can also be peeled neatly.