There are two types of boiled eggs, hard boiled eggs and soft boiled eggs. Hard boiled eggs are eggs, usually chicken eggs that are cooked with unbroken shells with the egg white and the egg yolk turns into solid while with soft boiled eggs the egg’s yolk and most often the egg white are liquid and sometimes raw eggs. To cook a perfectly hard boiled eggs, whites needs to be tender and yolks are opaque but if you overcooked a hard boiled eggs the middle part becomes greenish. In today’s post, we are going to talk about what you can do incase you experience something like overcooked hard boiled eggs.
What to do with overcooked hard boiled eggs
Boiling eggs is one of the simplest form of cooking the eggs, although as simple as it may sound that are several errors that could happen. The most common error is when you notice a green ring that typically appears within the egg yolks and it is usually followed by a strong foul odor that smells like a rotten egg.
How to hard boiled eggs
Hard boiled eggs are cooked by submerging the egg in water and allowing it to boil, that way the egg whites and the egg yolks will harden. The most common type of egg used are chicken eggs, but other eggs can also be hard boiled as well.
After the eggs are cooked, transfer the already boiled eggs in a bowl filled with cold water for about 10 minutes. This will help stop the cooking process of the egg and could not lead to overcooking.
Depending on one’s preferences, hard boiled eggs can be done by steaming. To safely boil the eggs, preventing it from overcooking you can use an egg timer.
Who do egg yolks turn green
Egg yolks turns green when hard boiling the eggs because of the chemical reaction that usually happens when exposed to high temperature for a very long cooking time. A simple explanation would be that egg whites contains sulfur and egg yolks contains iron. When exposed to high temperature caused by prolonged cooking time, the sulfur will react to the iron therefore a ferrous sulfide formation will happen causing the discoloration. Most of the time, the discoloration can be seen around the egg yolk.
You will also notice the discoloration when you scramble the eggs using a cast iron pan.
What does overcooked hard boiled eggs mean
Ideally, eggs are boiled for 9 minutes, but for a more firmer yolk you can extend cooking time of up to twelve minutes. More than that, it would be considered as an overcooked hard boiled eggs.
Overcooked eggs are more firmer and rubbery texture this is because of the protein links on the eggs. During the cooking process, these links continues to form and cross links especially if allowed to boil more than the recommended.
What will happen if you overcooked hard boiled eggs
As previously mentioned, overcooked boiled eggs appears to have a greenish color. This is because of the chemical reaction that usually occurs when exposed to high temperatures or prolonged cooking time.
If you are wondering if it is safe to eat overcooked hard boiled eggs. Since there is iron rings on the yolk, is it not entirely safe to eat overcooked boiled eggs. Though because of the presence of ferrous sulfide, you can eat overcooked boiled eggs but in moderation as it can cause food poisoning if you eat too much.
For how long can hard boiled eggs safe to eat
If at some point you still have left over boiled eggs, it can lasts about a week especially when stored properly such as putting them inside the refrigerator.
You will certainly know if hard boiled eggs are no longer safe to eat if it already has a bad smell that can be very unpleasant.
Overboiling hard boiled eggs will eventually smell caused by the hydrogen sulfide.
We all know that eggs are high in proteins and its shell where microbes that can easily pass through therefore boiling the egg is perhaps the safest way to kill the bacteria and or fungi that the egg might have.
When the already boiled eggs are removed from the boiling water, cooling it down will slow the cooking process. This is when bacteria will start to invade the egg , especially with overcooked eggs where most of the time the shell has already been cracked.
Cooked boiled eggs are still safe to eat up to 2 hours when placed on your countertop, longer than that you might want to rethink eating it as bacterial life forms starts to produce.
Other ways to consume overcooked hard boiled eggs
Overcooked hard boiled eggs can be very unpleasant to eat, not just because of the smell but also because the taste will be completely different as that or a perfectly hard boiled eggs. To safely eat overcooked hard boiled eggs, there are a few ways that you can do so that the overcooked eggs will not go to waste.
Mash with Mayonnaise and vegetables
This is perhaps the easiest way make use of overcooked eggs, mixing it with mayonnaise and vegetables. Any kind of vegetables will do. Basically, what you should do is to make an egg salad. The dryness of the eggs will restore the egg’s texture while at the same time brings out the flavor.
Create deviled eggs
Deviled eggs are hard boiled eggs wherein the shells are removed, the eggs cut in half and then filled with a paste. The paste is usually made from combining egg yolks that are mix with mayonnaise and mustard.
Used as a topping to salad
Since overcooked hard boiled eggs tend to have a rubbery texture, when used as a topping to salad make sure to use salad ingredients such as Lettuce (shredded) and Chicken (roasted) that will compliment the flavor of the egg.
Frequently Asked Questions
Boiled eggs that were placed inside the fridge can still be reboil, since it is still safe to eat. However keep in mind that boiling again an already boiled egg affects the quality of the eggs and its texture.
Yes, you can definitely get sick from eating overcooked egg since hydrogen sulfide can be toxic especially when eating too much. Make sure not to eat too much and only eat in moderation.
When the eggs are exposed to too much temperature or long cooking process, the proteins will form more links creating a rubbery texture. Overcooking the eggs can destroy the nutrients present in the egg yolks.
Hard boiled eggs should only lasts for a week when stored in the fridge but for hard boiled eggs at room temperature, it should only lasts for two hours.
Refrain from eating raw eggs since it can contain Salmonella.
Conclusion
Eggs can be used in different varieties of cooking but one should make sure how the eggs are cooked and especially how to store them.
If at some point during the cooking process, hard boil eggs becomes overcooked there are several ways to use them in different dishes that were mentioned above. Just make sure that when the eggs starts to have a foul smell, you may want to throw it away as it can no longer be eaten.