The hard-boiled egg is a humble food. It can be sliced and used as a topping over fancy toast or salads. It can be transformed into gourmet finger snacks using deviled eggs. They can even be eaten plain with a little salt, pepper, and a splash of Tabasco. While hard-boiled eggs are simple to prepare, peeling them is a whole other story.Once they’ve cooled and the peeling begins, things may get messy, if not outright difficult.

The shells either become caught or split into a million little fragments. However, a simple tip provided by Lifehacker can make peeling boiled eggs less of a hassle.Jacques Pépin, a well-known French chef, cookbook author, and television personality, devised a simple method for peeling hard-boiled eggs. The chef told Lifehacker that in order to achieve the ideal peel on your eggs, pierce a small hole in the wide side of the eggshell before placing it in boiling water.

This signifies that the egg will be easier to peel because the air pocket inside it has been liberated. Of course, he warns that you should make the hole with something small, such as a pin or a thumb tack, to avoid fracturing the shell. This not only eliminates the need to peel the eggs once they have done cooking, but it also addresses certain cosmetic concerns. Instead of coming out lumpy or bumpy, the expelled air ensures that the egg is precisely shaped, with rounded ends rather than flat ones.

Of course, if you don’t have a pin or a thumbtack to try this hack with, there are alternative methods for getting the eggshells to peel easily. For example, dipping them in an ice bath after boiling, or peeling them in cold water, should make things easier. What are your suggestions for effortlessly peeling hard-boiled eggs? Let us know!