Eggs are the MVP (most valuable player) of the protein world – they’re affordable, easy to cook and are acceptable to eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Personally, I love a classic boiled egg for its versatility. Have alone as a snack, on toast or in a nourish bowl for breakfast, as egg mayo for a lunchtime sandwich and on top of a salad or fried rice at dinnertime.

But if you’ve been to the shops lately you’ll know that this trusty ingredient is having a hard time: egg prices are higher than ever and supply isn’t always meeting demand. To an egg lover like me, they’ve become more precious than ever – I literally can’t afford to lose any egg when I peel them.

The most common issue when peeling eggs

We’ve all been there, when the white of the egg gets stuck to the shell or you tear the membrane of the egg. I love pock-marked peeled eggs, said no-one ever.

I want all of these egg issues to be a thing of the past.

Ultimate egg peeling hacks

Recently, I noticed the team over on taste took to their test kitchen to test out some popular egg peeling hacks. Thanks to them, I’ve learned what doesn’t work (the messy and slightly gross technique of blowing the shell off) and what does.

I’ve seen all kinds of other egg hacks on the internet, both about how you can boil them for optimum peel-ability (starting in cold water with room temp eggs seems to be the winner) and also how you can peel them more easily (iced water plunge is pretty popular).

My new trick for peeling eggs effortlessly

If there’s one recipe that always requires perfectly peeled eggs, it’s curried eggs. That retro, creamy curried egg filling needs smooth and perfect egg whites to achieve that signature look.

So imagine my delight when I discovered, buried in this member recipe for simple curried eggs, some handy hints from food writer Natasha Shaw to help de-shell your eggs.

Natasha suggests you add a teaspoon of baking soda or vinegar to water as your egg boils, saying: “When you go to peel them, you’ll be surprised at how easily the shells slide off!”

Natasha also offers the additional tip of running the eggs under cold water while peeling to “help the egg separate from the shell and that troublesome membrane”.

One more tip: Natasha points out that when eggs are 7 to 10 days old, they’re even easier to peel as the air pocket in the egg expands, allowing the membrane to easily slip off. So, fresh eggs = less easy-to-peel boiled eggs.