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Ok - putting the eggs back in for 8 more minutes steam and 8 minutes rest,
It's hard to say what the net cooking time was -
( my best guess is still 18 -20 minutes for the x-large eggs from a cold
refrigerator)

First thing of interest - the older eggs are now cooked almost to the
center - there was a spot about the size of a ten font small "o" in the
middle of the yoke of the older eggs that was not yet dry. Light yellow but
not dry.
The new eggs had a pin point in the center of some yolks, but not all,
that was not cooked to dry.

Second, the eggs smelled more "eggy" than when boiled in water.

Third, the yolks did not appear as green on the yolk-white interface as in
overcooked eggs, but it did seem to have a tiny hint of green shade compared
to my boil method. However, if you weren't looking for it, you would never
see it.
(remember that these eggs were twice-cooked)

Fourth - the cracked egg (cracked all the way down the side and in a "Y")
still did not have any white coming out AT ALL - the inside white is
visible.

As to peeling -
when peeled immediately after removal from the cold water:
I did not notice an appreciable difference from my old method. The
membrane seemed to cling to the egg and the shell almost-but-not equally.
However, since this was to be an experiment in peeling, I tried to peel
from the side and from the dimpled end. I cracked the shell all over, and
1) when I lifted the shell from the side - it was pick and pull to get
under the membrane, and was not much better than my boiling method.
2) when I opened the dimple end first so I could get under the membrane,
they peeled a lot easier than from the side, and all eggs so far have peeled
without white clinging to .
Note I did not knowingly try this end-first method with my boiled eggs. In
that method, sometimes the shells slide off and sometimes they don't.

I will let the rest of the eggs set and peel more later. Update in a few
hours.

NOTE: the results are not necessarily going to be the same for an 18 minute
non-stop steaming - remember that because of the initial failure to cook,
this was a "more-cook" situation.

"--" > wrote in message
...
> In lieu of my "bring to boil and remove from and let sit in the water 15
> minutes method", which cooks perfectly but has occasional peeling

problems,
> I tried the following and just finished the test:
>
> 8 fresh extra-large eggs (these hens were apparently fed only grain,
> according to the carton)
> 4 quite old extra-large eggs (expiration date from last week -Mar 23)
>
> self-defrost refrigerator is about 38 degrees, eggs in carton are stored

on
> top shelf near the fan
>
> 850 feet above sea level
>
> cold tap water
>
> pasta cooker (enamel, deep, fits the large burner completely - has an

insert
> that sits above the water for lifting pasta, an insert colander, and an
> insert colander strainer-cover. I removed the colander equipment, using

only
> the insert.)
>
> about 2-3" water, to just below and not touching the insert where the eggs
> rest.
>
> the eggs went into the insert and into the pot, then I put the water in

the
> pot and placed the covered pot on the stove, on high.
>
> Just before water boiled, I turned the burner down to low (it kept the

water
> at a low boil and the pot was full of water vapor).
>
> I timed from when the water boiled (from visual check and by sound)
>
> 12 minutes steamed (the eggs were extra large, and I plan to devil them if
> they cook fully, so I guessed an extra two minutes more than large eggs)
>
> 12 minutes resting
>
> I put an equal amount of cold water in the pot, then dumped it all out and
> put enough cold water in the pot and insert to cover the eggs with two
> inches cold water.
>
> I pulled two eggs in 6 minutes and let them drain.
>
> I drained the others in 12 minutes.
>
> Results:
> One of the new eggs cracked longitudinally, but the egg did not part and

no
> white came out of the shell.
>
> I cracked a new egg - the white was not firm, but not runny - it was
> partially cooked.
>
> The old egg had the same result -not fully cooked.
>
> I am now returning the remaining eggs to the steamer for an additional ten
> minutes in steam and retesting.
>
> Based on these results, I would guess that it will take about 18-20

minutes
> steaming rather than 12 minutes for an extra large egg, when doing a dozen
> eggs at once.
>
> More at next test.
>
>
>