How long do boiled eggs keep for?

[Rave]

As title really. I've just procured a large-ish quantity of eggs (regular readers of my posts will know where from) and I'm probably not going to be able to eat them all before the 'use-by' date. I thought I'd hard boil a big batch of them, and then put them in the fridge and grab them as and when for packed lunches, salads etc. Question is, how long will they keep in the fridge (in their shells) once they've been cooked?

Rich :¬)

[Nick]

Shell them first.

This may be a myth, but I was taught to shell the eggs before storing them. Never been too sure why, probably something to do with the 'gunk' that can be on the eggs before cooking, but I've also found the egg yolk has less tendency to go that horrible browny green colour if you shell them soon after cooking.

After that you've got a max of three days.

btw, three days is the standard for anything cooked/opened in the home. After that, you're risking it, especially with a domestic fridge that can't cope with temperature fluctuations like a commercial fridge can.

[Rave]

Sounds like I'm better off storing them uncooked then. Damn.

I seem to recall that the brown edge round the yolk is caused by the eggs cooling too fast or too slow. Can't remember which though unfortunately. It doesn't affect the taste as far as I can tell so I tend not to worry.

Rich :¬)

[Flibb]

You could pickle them.

[Nick]

Rave, yeah, its supposed to have something to do with coolling too slowly, but so many chefs have sworn that storing them in the shell causes it to happen too that I don't bother.

You're best off storing them raw.. OR... crack em into containers, whiz them up and then freeze them in handy portion sizes for scrambled eggs/omelettes.

[Rave]

Is that a serious suggestion Flibb? Pickled eggs look disgusting, but I realise that some stuff that looks gross actually does taste nice, so I could give them a go I suppose.

Thanks Deck, I'll freeze them if we don't manage to eat them all by the 'use by' date.

[Flibb]

Only ever tried one that was in a pub and we had eaten all the pork scratchings, cant remember how good/ bad it was. Could be worth calling in your local at some point to see if they have a bottle hiding behind the bar. Pickled they should last for ever, probably because nobody would want to eat them

[Rave]

You can actually buy pickled eggs in the supermarket.......

[Zak33]

Originally Posted by Deckard

You're best off storing them raw.. OR... crack em into containers, whiz them up and then freeze them in handy portion sizes for scrambled eggs/omelettes.

Hard Boil them all. Cool properly. Shell the lot of them. Chop and make ito egg maynaise. Make egg mayo sarnies by the ton. Freeze in clingfilm in portions.

Thats what I'd do

[tiggerai]

Supermarkets do the big jars of pickling vinegar, complete with stupidly large jar....

[Nick]

Freezing cooked eggs isn't advisable... not through any health risks, but purely cos they shed a lot of water when the defrost... not so bad if its just the boiled eggs on their tod but not so nice as egg mayo...

[Proplus]

To get rid of that green layer forming on the out parts of the egg yolk, you need to cool the eggs as quick as possible as soon as they come out of the boiling water, normally immersing them in cold water or placing them under a running cold tap.

[conan]

Originally Posted by Proplus

To get rid of that green layer forming on the out parts of the egg yolk, you need to cool the eggs as quick as possible as soon as they come out of the boiling water, normally immersing them in cold water or placing them under a running cold tap.

Yeah, thats the way Also, pickled eggs are great, if you haven't tried them give it a go.

[autopilot]

pickled eggs are lush especially when your a little pickled yourself

[iMc]

DO you just but hard boiled eggs in vinegar for a while to pickle them

[Kumagoro]

You could always pasturise the eggs using a super high powered microwave on a
fraction of a second burst.. they will keep for 2 years apparently....

Where you can get this super microwave i dont know.