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Peeling a hard-boiled egg is becoming an easier task for social media users who are coming across a spoon-tapping trick that has been a go-to for amateur and professional cooks.
Dr. Jordan Burns, an Indianapolis-based chiropractor and author from Fishers, Indiana, recently learned the pre-boil "egg trick" from his mother, Heather Burns, which he documented in an Instagram Reel on Friday, June 2.
The video demonstration has gone viral with over 2.6 million views, 53,100 likes and 1,000 comments.
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"You hear the snap at the end?" Heather asked while she tapped the base of an egg.
Heather Burns, a mom from Indiana, showed her son, Jordan Burns, that hard-boiled eggs can be easily peeled if someone taps the base with a spoon before boiling. (Dr. Jordan Burns)
"It means that the albumen popped away from the outside of the shell, and they are so much easier to peel," she explained as she submerged the egg in a pot of water. "Some of them take a little longer to snap than others but some of them snap in a couple taps."
In an emailed statement sent to Fox News Digital, Heather Burns wrote that she always taps the "butt end" of an egg.
"I do this before I boil them. Then I plunge them into an ice bath after a 10-minute boil," she wrote. "Once cool, crack on counter and peel away. This has made the difference for me. I've tried some of the other hacks, but nothing has worked as well as this."
Instagram users who claim to have tested the egg-tapping trick themselves say it has worked for them as well.
"I just started doing this and it works great," one user wrote.
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"Tried it and it works beautifully," another user commented.
"This super light crack of an egg allows water to get between the shell and albumen which is what makes the egg easier to peel," another user shared. "Fun stuff!"
Not all commenters agreed with the spoon-tapping, pre-boil egg trick.
Some people say they have a hard time peeling the shell off a hard-boiled egg. (iStock)
Some suggested alternative methods for boiling mess-free eggs, including boiling eggs in salt, baking soda or vinegar, peeling eggs while still warm, submerging boiled eggs in cold water before peeling (without tapping), setting a strict boil time or using an electric pressure cooker.
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While some home cooks and restaurant prep cooks have suggested alternative egg peeling tricks, the technique has generated more than 7.3 million views on TikTok under the search term "tapping eggs before boiling."
Kelly Senyei, a cookbook author and chef from San Diego, California, is one of the many TikTok users who tested the egg-tapping hack when the technique initially went viral on the video-sharing app in early spring.
Senyei uploaded a video demonstrating the pre-boil egg trick in April on her "Just a Taste" TikTok account, which is linked to her food website of the same name.
Cookbook author and chef Kelly Senyei tested the pre-boil, egg-tapping hack for her TikTok followers in April 2023. (Kelly Senyei)
In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, Senyei wrote that she first saw the egg-tapping hack on TikTok when it was shared a month prior by Amy Whittington (@aymlessleigh84), who shares homesteading tips.
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"The hack works incredibly well... if done right," Senyei wrote in an email. "It requires lightly tapping the larger round end of an egg – where the air cell is located – with the back of a spoon until you hear a distinctive ‘snap.’"
"The audible snap is the membrane releasing from the shell," she continued. "By releasing the membrane, the interior egg components – the whites (AKA albumen) and the yolk – remain in one cohesive group, unattached to the shell."
Kelly Senyei, who's a professional chef from California, also recommends ice baths, rolling and peeling hard-boiled eggs under running water, and rolling a knife over boiled and peeled eggs for easy halving. (Kelly Senyei)
Senyei noted that it can take anywhere from two to a dozen taps to "snap" an egg, and she warns that people who attempt this kitchen hack should make sure they’re tapping their egg lightly with a spoon, so the shell won’t crack and leak egg white while boiling.
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"You must tap the larger round end of the egg where the air cell is and not the skinnier end," she wrote. "When the egg is hard-boiled, the shell is much easier to remove since it’s not physically attached to the albumen and yolk."
"All in all, this hack gets an A+ from me! I will never not tap my eggs again before boiling them," Senyei concluded. "It really is a game-changer on the peeling front."
Other tips Senyei suggests for boiling and peeling the perfect egg include simmering an egg in a covered pot for exactly 12 minutes, placing a boiled egg in an ice bath to stop it from cooking further; followed by tapping, rolling and then peeling an egg under a light stream of running water.
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If a person wants to halve an egg white while removing the yolk, they can do so by rolling a knife over an egg and applying "medium pressure to pop out" the yellow center sans mess, according to Senyei.
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