That sounds egg-stremely frustrating.
Ig - I'm sorry the Eggstractor sucks, but I enjoyed reading your post
nonetheless. So something good came out of it.
S t a c i
"Ignoramus8546" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:http://tinyurl.com/6fwap
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 the thing.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 or time-wasting 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. And when we ran through the
first dozen, we threw cholesterol to the wind and went searching for
more.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. I'm afraid you're stuck, as the infomercial describes
it, "peeling until your fingers are raw."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.---
Matthew Kauffman is a columnist for The Hartford Courant, a Tribune
Co. newspaper. E-mail him at [email hidden]. For a detailed
review of other products, log onto www.ctnow.com/ontv.