Youngsters!

[Eat MY Dust]

one of the younger guys at my work (21) had to ask me if he had to pierce his eggs before boiling them to stop them blowing up! I was very amused.

 

[Arch]

Er, why were you amused? We never used to pierce eggs when I was little, then my Mum heard of it as a way to prevent them cracking when lowered into hot water (our preferred method), and now we always pierce the thicker end (to let air out of the air sac formed there).

But before we heard of it, we just lowered them in slowly and hoped for the best. (I gather, the fresher the egg, the smaller the air pocket and the less rick of cracking).

 

[Eat MY Dust]

Sorry I've never heard of someone piercing eggs before. I've never pierced an egg and mines don't crack or explode. If you put a very cold egg into very hot water then I'd expect it to crack. The easiest solution to this I've found is not to do this.

 

[Milo]

You can microwave an egg if you put a hole in it I believe.

 

[trj977]

Like Arch I always pierce the egg and lower into boiling water. In fact we have a little gizzmo called an egg pricker for that very job.

 

[longers]

I think Lakeland Plastics or Betterware/Kleeneze will sell you a pricker for your eggs.

We used to prick them to blow them.

 

[Mr Pig]

Why do you want to eat eggs anyway? They come out of a chicken's bum you know. Well, close enough.

And they taste like sick-flavoured rubber.

 

[Maz]

I've never heard of piercing eggs before boiling. Don't you run the risk of cracking them?

 

[Eat MY Dust]

I've been boiling eggs for about 28 of my 33 years and I'm also quite a dab hand in the kitchen, I've also worked in various kitchens over the years and I've honestly never heard of piercing eggs. I suppose you learn something new every day (kind of). Saying that I'm not going to run out and buy something to pierce eggs with........I don't see the point!

 

[ChrisKH]

Even if you don't pierce them and they crack slightly. Does it matter? I have never pierced and never received a complaint about a cracked boiled egg which happens occasionally. You're going to smash it's head in anyway.

 

[swee'pea99]

+1 for piercing. Thicker end, wee hole, no cracking, ever. We borrow a mapping pin from the cork board in the kitchen.

 

[punkypossum]

I used to pierce, cause that's what my mum did when I was a kid, then just gave up on it...hardly ever crack, and if they do, I don't really care...

 

[Arch]

We used to have a device for it, a sort of sprung pin that came up from a hole in a bottom-of-an-egg shaped cradle - in fact it was my aunt sending it from Canada that got us doing it in the first place. Now, I use a drawing pin from the cork board (and never crack them in the process). I agree, you can do without, but it's simple to do, and as I put eggs into boiling water (although only from room temp - mind you, my kitchen can be quite cold) it's worth doing. A small crack isn't a problem, true, but if it's big enough to let a lot of egg white out, it's a nuisance (and wastes egg).

 

[Fnaar]

A small crack isn't a problem

Specially if you only have a small pricker

 

[punkypossum]

I start from cold water, so the cracking risk is considerably lower!!!!