The Baking Staple That Makes Peeling Hard-Boiled Eggs A Breeze

Hard-boiled eggs are a staple of many households, and for good reason. They're delicious and nutritious, and can be enjoyed in numerous ways — on their own as a quick grab and go breakfast or snack, sliced as a protein-rich topping for salads or avocado toast, and of course, as the key ingredient in egg salad and deviled eggs. The biggest problem with hard-boiled eggs seem to be peeling them without losing chunks of egg white because they're stuck to the shell, leaving you with a pockmarked mess.

As is the case with a problem that many people face, there are also many potential solutions. One that most people are familiar with is using older eggs. As eggs age, their pH levels increase, which weakens the bonds between the egg white and the shell, making them easier to peel — Pete and Gerry's Organic Eggs recommends using eggs that are a week or two old. That's great if you knew a week or two ago that you needed hard-boiled eggs tomorrow, but that doesn't help you now. Luckily, there's a baking staple that you probably have in your pantry that can help: baking soda.

The reason baking soda makes it easier to peel hard-boiled eggs has to do with the eggs' pH again. According to Prevention, adding baking soda will increase the pH level of the eggs, much as time does naturally. And recall that the higher the pH, the weaker the bonds between the egg white and the shell. And the weaker bonds, the easier it is to peel the shell away without all the egg white sticking to it.

The baking soda method is also incredibly easy to use. All you have to do is add around a half a teaspoon of baking soda to every quart of water you're using, then simply follow whatever method you prefer for boiling eggs. Just be aware that adding baking soda may lead to a more sulfurous smell, though it won't affect the taste.

To really ensure your odds of success in peeling the perfect hard-boiled egg, you could also incorporate some of the tricks for peeling hard-boiled eggs that come into play after the eggs have been cooked, like shocking the cooked eggs right away in an ice bath and letting them cool down before you try peeling them.