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enter image description here

I made some boiled eggs and they were white when they went in! I did water, two inches above the eggs (18 of them). 1/3c Apple cider vinegar, and 1T salt... I was using a cheap Walmart pan as we just moved and I bought it for like $5. It’s really thin. I brought to a boil and then cooked for 11-12 mins.

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    Why did you use vinegar ?
    – Max
    Commented Dec 10, 2018 at 18:07
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    Hi! This is interesting, and you have an upvote from me, I also want to know what it was :) On our site, it is important that a question serves not only the person asking, but also others who face similar problems. So I changed the title of your question to be a concrete description of the problem - with the old title, it wouldn't be come up during relevant searches.
    – rumtscho ♦
    Commented Dec 10, 2018 at 19:16
  • @Max I've heard some tales that vinegar helps with peeling afterwards... but I think it's patently false. With that said, the black spots could be flecks of a non-stick coating coming off. Especially since if you zoom in on the image, some of the eggs look "dirty".
    – SnakeDoc
    Commented Dec 10, 2018 at 19:27
  • Neither vinegar nor salt should cross the shell, both are totally useless. The age of the egg has more to do with the pealability, with fresher eggs noticeably harder to peel.
    – user57361
    Commented Dec 11, 2018 at 0:29
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    Addendum: since I found it interesting to know if the salt-and-vinegar tale is true or not, I asked a question on it: cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/94689
    – rumtscho ♦
    Commented Dec 11, 2018 at 11:36

2 Answers 2

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As you posted a high-res picture, I can clearly see that this is exactly like my grandmother's white eggs would look like after she boiled them in an aluminium kettle. AFAIK they don't sell these any more, so I'm surprised to see eggs like this again after 30 years.

After peeling, the discolouration wasn't noticeable any more.

If both assumptions above (Aluminium pot and not visible any more after peeling) they are safe to eat as Al2O3 is probably the root cause and it's safe according to this document published by the WHO.

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Eggshells can become speckled after cooking due to mineral deposits on the shell. During boiling, the minerals in the water react with the eggshells, causing discoloration. This is more common with hard water, which contains higher levels of minerals like calcium and magnesium. While these speckles may look unusual, they are harmless and do not affect the taste or safety of the eggs. Using filtered or distilled water can help reduce this effect.

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  • Why would calcium in the water react with calcium in the eggshell to produce discoloration? Wouldn’t it just be white, like hard water deposits normally are?
    – Sneftel
    Commented Aug 8 at 8:53
  • Is this AI? ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎
    – the-baby-is-you
    Commented Aug 8 at 13:09

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