Boiling eggs the 'kosher' way?! So confused....

studying_torah

Tue, Oct 29 2013, 10:59 am

I seem to recall learning in seminary (a long time ago) that when boiling eggs, you must use a min of 3 eggs. Afterwards, in order to cool them in a 'kosher' way, you can't pour out the hot water, only pour cold water into the pot, till all the hot water flows out.
Is this accurate, and if so, what is the reasoning?
If I'm making eggs only for myself (breakfast let's say, once the kids are out), then the 3rd egg always goes to waste, so I prefer to boil only 2.
And what is the deal w/ the hot water not being able to be poured out directly?
I'd appreciate any clarity!
Thanks! Very Happy

greenfire

Tue, Oct 29 2013, 11:01 am

never heard of the boiling water part ...

but the 3 eggs is so that if one of them has a blood spot - it's botel b'shishim

[you can put leftover hard-boiled egg in fridge - it can last almost a week]

LiLIsraeli

Tue, Oct 29 2013, 1:32 pm

I always heard that you should boil an odd number of eggs, at least 3.

I happen to do the part with the cold water, but I thought it was just because that helps the shell to peel better, not because of halacha.

chocolate chips

Tue, Oct 29 2013, 1:47 pm

The 3 eggs is because if one has a blood spot the pot is considered trief. If you have 2 and 1 has, same thing. With 3 there is a much less chance that the majority will have a blood spot (although it could) so most people only boil 3 or more.

As for the cold over hot water, that is nothing to do with kashrus it is a tip to help peel the eggs after (as does adding salt) http://www.marthastewart.com/3.....-eggs

granolamom

Tue, Oct 29 2013, 6:00 pm

I thought the cold water thing was to prevent fewer than 3 eggs in a pot of hot water at once (if one has a blood spot then there goes your batel bshishim safety net). once the water is no longer yad soledes, you can remove just one.

at least thats what I learned. I do know many very frum people who just use a designated egg-pot and boil one egg at a time. and I have no idea why you would need a designated egg pot. I have one, but only because my mother and grandmothers did.

oliveoil

Tue, Oct 29 2013, 7:42 pm

There are 2 issues. the eggs and the pot.

By boiling an odd number of eggs, your pot will stay kosher even if there are blood spots, because we can assume the majority didn't have blog spots. (need an odd number in order to have a majority).

in terms of the eggs, I learned that you need to check even boiled eggs by separating the yolk and the white (the blood spot would be visible there).

zaq

Tue, Oct 29 2013, 8:41 pm

The "designated egg pot" applies if you have aluminum pots. Eggs will react with aluminum and darken the pot, which will in turn discolor other foods. Therefore, you either boil eggs in a designated aluminum pot that you use for nothing else--not the best idea because the aluminum will also discolor the yolks-- or use a separate pot of enamel or stainless steel. It does not have to be used solely for eggs, but as it's usually a rather small pot, if you cook for a family it's not likely to get much use aside from boiling eggs.

Not everything we do has, or has to have, a basis in halacha. Sometimes cigar is just a cigar.

seeker

Tue, Oct 29 2013, 9:01 pm

It does not need to be an odd number total, just three or more because that is the minimum needed to have a majority at all.

Never heard the thing about running cold water straight into the pot, so I can't comment either way.

There is no need to check each egg.

Nowadays blood spots are so uncommon and usually not from fertilization (which is more serious because it makes the whole egg treif, whereas most of our blood spots could be batul more easily) so there is a lot of room to be lenient and anyway it's less likely that you'd get into this kind of trouble from, say, boiling one egg. If you're using cage-free chickens you might have to be more strict, AYLOR.

Jughead

Tue, Oct 29 2013, 10:43 pm

checking hard boiled eggs may not be halachah (don't know - I'm not a posek) but it IS a chassidishe minhag. so if s/o is chassidish - yeah, she should check hard boiled eggs.

and the hot water/cold water thing is b/c it makes them easier to peel. granolamom - the person who told you the other explanation was probably shooting in the dark.

granolamom

Wed, Oct 30 2013, 1:18 pm

Jughead wrote:

the person who told me that was my high school halacha teacher. I won't name him in case I misunderstood him, but he is a well known posek and I doubt he 'shoots in the dark'.

doesnt it make sense though? if the problem is having fewer than three eggs in hot water, if you remove one egg at a time you will have fewer than three. If you pour out the hot water you still have a hot pot that the eggs are in contact with. I guess you could still allow the hot water and pot to cool naturally before removing any eggs, maybe he meant you could do that or cool it by adding cold water.

Frumdoc

Thu, Oct 31 2013, 6:53 am

granolamom wrote:

Jughead wrote:

That does make sense thanks. I thought it was just to make them easier to peel.

I have a designated egg pot, because after a lot of times boiling eggs, you get a whitish stain (? Calcium from eggshells), on the pot, and I don't want to ruin more than one pot.

myself

Thu, Oct 31 2013, 10:02 am

Jughead wrote:

I am so surprised to hear this. Do people really check hard boiled eggs?

Yamama

Thu, Oct 31 2013, 10:49 pm

I check my eggs, minimum of 3, odd number, blood transfers to white, and can understand the pouring out part, though I never realized that it was for that reason.

Having a designated pot (I don't) is for the reason that if you DO get a majority of eggs with blood spots, you can kasher the pot. Therefore, probably someone's mother or grandmother used a cheap aluminum pot, which could be kashered (as opposed to enamel, teflon, pyrex....) Some people still boil their eggs in cans, because if they find an egg with a blood spot, they can just discard the can and use another one.