I love me some eggs, but I don’t know how long to cook them for certain results. I’ve found that putting eggs in a saucepan covered with cool water and bringing them to the boil gives very nice soft boiled eggs, but what tricks do Dopers use for eggs of varying …boil?
I make a few hard-boiled eggs and have two a couple of times a week for breakfast. It’s cheap, quick, and two have enough protein to keep me going until lunch. One tip I have is to put them in ice water after cooking- that keeps the yolks from turning green the next day.
For the boiling, I do what Freud does except keep the fire on for about fifteen minutes after they come to a boil, then turn the fire off and let them sit for a few. Then I crack them before throwing them in the ice water. This allows water between the shell and white, making for super-easy peeling. I don’t store them in the water, but seal them well so my frost-free fridge doesn’t dry them out.
In a search for the perfect boiled egg, I came across this website. I followed the instructions to the letter, and came out with one absolutely perfect, easy-peel, yellow-yolk, no-green egg which was delightful. For some reason, however, only that one turned out perfectly. The others were fine to eat but after a day or two of refrigeration, some had that greenish yolk-ring or were hard to peel, so YMMV.
A friend of mine also suggested putting a little vinegar in the ice water, which helps with easy-peeling. I haven’t tried that, though.
Hard boil? Cold water, egg, seventeen minutes.
Easy peel; no green.
…I have apparently lost the ability to communicate in full sentences.
Two considerations that must be taken into account:
- Is the egg at fridge or room temperature?
- Is the water initially at boiling point or cold?
For me, making the perfect hard-boiled egg goes like this:
Fridge-temperature egg, water pre-boiled in a kettle. Turn stove on full. Put egg in pan, pour in boiled water. Put on stove, cover. Set timer for 11 minutes. Uncover once water is raging. At 11 minutes, take egg out and put in jug of cold water. Change water after 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, dry eggshell, and there you go.
Alternatively, you could boil the water in the pan first, but then you have to be very careful when you place the egg in the pan, or it will break, whereas pouring boiling water onto the egg doesn’t seem to cause this to happen.
Here’s how we do it at work, and they always seem to come out great.
Place eggs in pan with enough water to just cover them. Put them on the fire and turn heat to high. When the water boils set a timer for ten minutes and take them off the heat as soon as the time is up. Chill the water immediately by adding ice. This is to make them stop cooking at once, because even if you took them out of the water they are still hot. It also leaves the yolks a pretty yellow, without that grayish sort of color on their outside. You can peel the eggs when they have cooled to room temperature, or put them in the fridge if you don’t use them right away. They are usually easier to peel though, before that.
I also do the 10 minute boil and pour off the boiling water and switch to cold tap. I don’t waste my ice on that though.
An off topic question: Does anyone else enjoy eating them warm with a little butter on them? It makes the yolk taste very creamy.
Yep. A little salt and a little butter when they’re warm. When they’re cold, I either devil them or put a little ranch dressing on them.
Most importantly, you need old eggs, regardless of your method. Fresh eggs are a misery to peel. I’m of the “bring to a boil, turn off heat, cover and sit for 15 minutes” school of thought. When time is up, I drain off the hot water and deluge with cold water, shaking the pan to crack the shells. This seems to allow a bit of cold water under the shell, which may or may not make them easier to peel.
This is great guys, much appreciated!
Thank you!
My mother counts 8 minutes since the water starts to boil, empties the pan as soon as the buzzer rings and washes them with cold water; that way they don’t get any grey, which she hates.
But they also sometimes have a not-totally-hard center which makes me want to puke. I use more salt than she does, count 8 minutes since it starts to boil and don’t empty the pan until it’s cooled by itself. Very little grey and it’s all solid.