How to Make Egg Easy-to- Peel, Foolproof Boiled Eggs

It's not that hard to boil an egg, but along the way, things can (and often do) go wrong. Kitchen Konfidence offers solutions to two of the biggest challenges about making boiled eggs: Timing the water boiling exactly and getting peels off easily (without losing chunks of the egg).

Brandon Matzek's first tip is to poke the flatter end of the egg with a small, sterilized pin. This, he says, make them easier to peel. The Science of Cooking site explains what might be at play here and a few other benefits you might get from the pin prick:

Some people use a pin to make a small hole in the shell at the large end of the egg before they put the egg in the water. At the large end of each egg is a small air space. When you hard cook an egg, this air heats up, expands, and escapes through pores in the shell—but not before the egg white sets. This leaves the egg with a flattened end. Pricking the egg provides a quick escape route for the air, which gives you an egg with a smoothly rounded end. If you prick an egg, watch for a jet of air shooting from the hole as the egg cooks.

Scientists disagree on the other possible benefits of pricking an egg. Some say that piercing the eggshell with a pin lets water leak between the shell and the egg's internal membrane, making for an egg that's easier to peel. Others claim that providing a quick way out for expanding gases makes the egg less likely to crack as it cooks, which may be particularly important for older eggs with larger air sacs. Still others say that poking a hole in the shell weakens it, making cracks more likely.

Brandon's second tip, though, is pretty genius for those of us who sometimes lose track of time when boiling eggs (because it's a fact that if you wander off for a moment, you'll come back to the eggs already boiling for who knows how long). He uses a probe thermometer to be alerted for when the eggs are right about to boil:

Put the saucepan over a medium-high flame, and place the tip of a probe thermometer into the water. Water boils at 212°F, so set your thermometer to sound the alarm at 209°F. I like to give myself a little time get to the kitchen, and prepare for the next step. As soon as the water starts to boil, set a timer for 1 minute. The moment that minute is up, take the saucepan off the heat, cover, and let sit for 8 to 10 minutes. Timing will depend on the type of pan you use. I'd recommend 8 minutes the first time you try this. If the yolks are still a little squishy, try 9 minutes on your next batch.

Using a probe thermometer to boil eggs may seem a bit over-the-top, but it completely eliminates challenges #1 and #3 above. You will never over-cook an egg again.

For hard-boiled egg lovers, that's music to our ears.

For more egg boiling tips and tricks, see the full post on Kitchen Konfidence.

How to Grow A Successful Business

To succeed in business today, you need to be flexible and have good planning and organizational skills. Many people start a business thinking that they'll turn on their computers or open their doors and start making money - only to find that making money in a business is much more difficult than they thought. You can avoid this in your business ventures by taking your time and planning out all the necessary steps you need to reach to achieve success. Read on to find out how.

1. Get Organized
To be successful in business you need to be organized. Organization will help you complete tasks and stay on top of things to be done. A good way to do this is to create a to-do list each day - as you complete each item, check it off your list. This will ensure that you're not forgetting anything and you're completing all the tasks that are essential to the survival of your business.

2. Keep Detailed Records
All successful businesses keep detailed records. By keeping detailed records, you'll know where the business stands financially and what potential challenges you could be facing. Just knowing this gives you time to create strategies to overcome the obstacles that can prevent you from being successful and growing your business.

3. Analyze Your Competition
Competition breeds the best results. To be successful, you can't be afraid to study and learn from your competitors. After all, they may be doing something right that you can implement in your business to make more money.

4. Understand the Risks and Rewards
The key to being successful is taking calculated risks to help your business grow. A good question to ask is "What's the downside?" If you can answer this question, then you know what the worst-case scenario is. This knowledge will allow you to take the kinds of calculated risks that can generate tremendous rewards for your business.

5. Be Creative
Always be looking for ways to improve your business and to make it stand out from the competition. Recognize that you don't know everything and be open to new ideas and new approaches to your business.

6. Stay FocusedThe old saying that "Rome was not built in a day" applies here. Just because you open a business doesn't mean that you're going to immediately start making money. It takes time to let people know who you are, so stay focused on achieving your short-term goals and give the rest time to come together on its own.

7. Prepare to Make Sacrifices
The lead-up to starting a business is hard work, but after you open your doors, your work has just begun. In many cases, you have to put in more time than you would if you were working for someone else. In turn, you have to make sacrifices, such as spending less time with family and friends in order to be successful.

8. Provide Great Service
There are many successful businesses that forget that providing great customer service is important. If you provide better service for your customers, they'll be more inclined to come to you the next time they need something instead of going to your competition.

9. Be Consistent
Consistency is key component to making money in business. You have to consistently keep doing the things necessary to be successful day in and day out. This will create long-term positive habits that will help you make money over the long term.

Conclusion
Starting and running and running a successful business can be rewarding and challenging. Success requires focus, discipline and perseverance. However, success will not come over night - it requires a long-term focus and that you remain consistent in challenging environments. 

source : investopedia.com