Can You Actually Blow a Hard-Boiled Egg Right Out of Its Shell?

How do you get rid of the shell around a hard-boiled egg? Of course there’s the standard crack-and-peel method, but have you ever tried to blow the egg out of its shell? Yes, blow a hard-boiled egg straight out of its too-sticky shell. What?

I recently heard about this quirky tip from one of my fellow editors. I was skeptical, yet intrigued, so I had to try it for myself!

There are more than a few videos around the internet highlighting this tip, so I can’t cite the original source. But it goes something like this: once the hard-boiled eggs have cooled enough that they can be easily handled, tap the top of the egg against a hard surface and peel a small circle of the shell away. Then, flip the egg over and tap the other end and peel away a larger piece of shell so the bottom of the egg is exposed. Blow into the top of the shell, and the egg should come out of the bottom. It’s also important not to squeeze the egg as you try to blow it out of the shell.

→ See more of this tip: Crack the Ends and Blow to Easily Peel Hard-Boiled Eggs at Lifehacker

I started by making some hard-boiled eggs, then letting them fully cool. As suggested in the original tip, I peeled away a small area at the top of the egg, then peeled away a larger piece of shell from the bottom of the egg.

My fiancé was a good sport and agreed to help with the test. He took a deep breath and blew into the top of the first egg. Air whistled as it funneled between the egg and the shell, but the egg didn’t budge. Round one: The egg did not come free from the shell, and he was left feeling light-headed.

He tried again with a second egg. More whistling air, more feelings of light-headedness, but just as he was about to give up, there was movement with the egg. One more deep breath, and the egg came free from its shell.

For good measure, he tried again with a third egg. Once again, it took a lot of effort, but the egg was blown out of the bottom of the shell.

Yes, with enough effort and lung power, you can blow a hard-boiled egg out of its shell. It’s not the fastest or easiest method, but it does work.

The verdict: This is a not a mind-blowing tip.

Some of the other tips I saw suggested adding baking soda to the water when cooking the eggs, to make them easier to peel. We tested this theory a while back, and determined that it doesn’t actually make peeling any easier. So, I did not add baking soda to the water when I boiled the eggs.

The YouTube videos made it look much easier than it actually was. I can’t say that I’ll be using this method to peel hard-boiled eggs again any time soon, but it was a fun experiment to try.

Have you ever tried to blow a hard-boiled egg out of its shell?