What's Turning The Yolks Of Your Hard-Boiled Eggs Green (And How To Stop It)

Dr. Seuss tried really hard to make green eggs popular, and while they made for a catchy page-turner, they look less than appetizing in practice. Seriously, there's nothing more frustrating than taking the time to hard-boil eggs, only to peel them and find the yolks have turned a revolting green. Although some folks may think this is just a fact of life, it's actually completely avoidable. 

The reason the outside of egg yolks turns green is usually due to overcooking, though it can also be caused by boiling the eggs in water that's high in iron. When due to overcooking, the green hue is the result of a process known as denaturation. This is when the egg yolks' iron reacts with the sulfur that's present inside the whites to form green chemical compounds known as ferrous sulfide. In this instance, denaturation is caused by prolonged heat, which kickstarts the chemical reaction. 

Although the eggs are completely safe to consume, the green yolks don't look very tasty and can ruin the appearance of dishes like deviled eggs. Fortunately, it's really easy to stop your yolks from turning green, and the key is to avoid boiling your hard-boiled eggs. 

Oftentimes, when people make hard-boiled eggs, they leave the eggs at a full boil for way too long. However, the surefire way to avoid getting green yolks when hard-boiling eggs is to do everything but boil them. The key is to add eggs in an even layer to a pot and cover them with cold water. The eggs should be slowly heated until the water is nearly boiling. At that point, remove them from the heat entirely and let them sit for between nine and 15 minutes, depending on the size of the eggs. 

Alternatively, you can make eggs using the instant pot 5-5-5 method, which involves cooking them for five minutes, letting them sit for an additional five, and finally placing them in an ice bath for five more. Of course, there are also a ton of other hard-boiled egg hacks you can use, such as putting vinegar in the water to make the eggs easier to peel. And, once you master the cooking process, there is so much you can learn to do with hard-boiled eggs, including creating delicious, upgraded egg salads and numerous variations of deviled eggs.