I have stood over a sink picking tiny shell fragments off an egg white until it looked like the surface of the moon. We have all been there. You peel one egg perfectly and feel like a genius. The next one loses half its white to the trash can. It is humbling.

After ruining enough deviled eggs to question my competence as a home cook, I tested every method I could find. Here is what actually works.

Start With Older Eggs

This sounds backwards but it is the single biggest factor. Fresh eggs are harder to peel. As eggs age, the pH of the white rises and the membrane between the shell and the white loosens. Eggs that are at least a week old peel much more cleanly than ones you bought yesterday.

If you only have fresh eggs and need hard boiled eggs today, do not panic. The next steps still help a lot.

The Ice Bath Is Not Optional

When your eggs are done cooking, transfer them immediately into a bowl of ice water. Let them sit for at least 10 minutes. The cold shock causes the egg white to contract slightly away from the shell membrane. This alone makes a bigger difference than any cooking technique.

Steam Instead of Boil

Put an inch of water in a pot with a steamer basket. Bring it to a boil, add the eggs to the basket, cover, and steam for 13 minutes. Steaming cooks eggs more gently than boiling — the shells are less likely to crack, and the whites set up more evenly. Then straight into the ice bath.

Peel Under Running Water

This is the part that feels wasteful but works. Crack the shell all over by gently tapping the egg on the counter, then peel it under a thin stream of cold running water. The water gets between the membrane and the white, separating them naturally. Most of the shell will come off in two or three large pieces.