I think of myself as a savvy consumer, unswayed by slick ads, leery of marketing claims, and certainly never propelled toward the telephone by the lure of an infomercial demonstration.
But if all that’s true, then what in the world is this plastic thing called the Eggstractor doing on my kitchen counter? Do I really need a contraption to peel the shell off hardboiled eggs? Does anyone?
OK, I confess: The commercials got to me. Clip after clip of satisfied cooks effortlessly disrobing eggs with just a swift shove of the Eggstractor made me strangely eager to try it.
So in the service of journalism, my son and I rounded up a dozen eggs, set a pot of water on the stove, and got ready to end the unspeakable drudgery of peeling eggs.
“Are you tired of that hassle of peeling for what seems to be hours whenever you want to enjoy delicious, high-protein eggs?” the infomercial asks in a sympathetic tone. “Peeling is such a pain! And what a mess!”
Now for as long as I can remember, I’ve peeled hardboiled eggs by employing the miracle of running tap water. I have never been under the impression that this was an unsatisfactory method, which is why the success of the Eggstractor was a bit of a mystery to me.
And after trying it, the Eggstractor’s popularity has become a full-on conundrum. The reason? In test after test, it just didn’t work.
The $9.95 Eggstractor features a simple plastic stand with a hole in the center to prop up the egg, which must be prepped by piercing holes in one end and cracking the other. A wide plastic tube with accordion folds is placed over the egg, and with a quick two-handed push, the air pressure is supposed to make the egg slip out of its shell, drop through the hole and bounce unscathed onto the counter.
We followed the instructions faithfully. We varied the cooking time. We tried large and extra large eggs.
But we never–not once–got an egg to peel properly. Time and again, the bedeviled eggs fell apart or popped out with the bottom quarter of the shell annoyingly intact.
“The Eggstractor peels hardboiled eggs instantly, and perfectly, every time,” assures the infomercial narrator.
Not for me. And not, I’m guessing, for a lot of people. The first clue comes in the instruction booklet–excuse me, the “eggstruction” booklet.
Right on Page 2, the caveats start appearing: “It may take a couple of tries to get the hang of it, so if the first time your eggs don’t come out perfectly, take a breather and give it another try.” “Remember, practice makes perfect!” “If you follow the Eggstructions Eggsactly you will be an Eggspert Eggstractor!”
This is followed immediately by a troubleshooting guide, with a long list of what can go wrong. (No. 3: “Egg popped out, but completely exploded.”)
For a company that promises a perfect peel “every time,” it has an uncanny awareness of just the sort of problems I encountered.
Sorry to be an eggs Benedict Arnold here, but I just can’t recommend the Eggstractor.
At the same time, the Eggstractor is dirt cheap, and it does include a free egg slicer, which is a handy gadget and probably worth a few dollars.
So if you were taken in, as I was, by the infomercial, don’t feel too guilty. And if you can get the Eggstractor to work, let me know your secret recipe.
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Matthew Kauffman is a columnist for The Hartford Courant, a Tribune Co. newspaper. E-mail yourmoney@tribune.com. For a detailed review of other products, log onto www.ctnow.com/ontv.
