# Hard boiled eggs stay warm for a long time **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 2, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-stay-warm-for-a-long-time/470752 "2008-11-02T20:17:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-stay-warm-for-a-long-time/470752/1 "2008-11-02T20:17:37Z")
Seriously, it’s been sitting on my desk since I got back from the cafeteria and it’s still very warm to the touch. Either eggs have incredible insulative properties, which I was previously unaware of\*, or our food supplier is actually serving us NASA’s latest heat-tile idea. \*This is extremely possible. My parents would quite cheerfully tell you about the time I learned you can’t soft-boil an egg in the microwave. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-stay-warm-for-a-long-time/470752/2 "2008-11-02T20:23:40Z")
I think just about any university student would go with the heat-tile theory.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-stay-warm-for-a-long-time/470752/3 "2008-11-02T20:35:14Z")
I asked my sister the chemical engineer about this. She gave me an incredibly long explanation involving specific heat and ended by discussing the ways she could use this property of eggs for cruel practical jokes ---
**Author:** ![SeanArenas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeanArenas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeanArenas)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-stay-warm-for-a-long-time/470752/4 "2008-11-02T20:36:09Z")
Normally after I hard boil eggs, I put them in cold water with ice cubes for 2-3 minutes. They’re still very warm on the inside, and only lukewarm under the shell. ---
**Author:** ![SeanArenas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeanArenas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeanArenas)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-stay-warm-for-a-long-time/470752/5 "2008-11-02T20:37:09Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I asked my sister the chemical engineer about this. She gave me an incredibly long explanation involving specific heat and ended by discussing the ways she could use this property of eggs for cruel practical jokes uhmmm, kick down with some of the practical jokes ideas! ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-stay-warm-for-a-long-time/470752/6 "2008-11-03T00:43:07Z")
If you want 'em cold fast, **SeanArenas** has the right idea: put 'em in an ice bath. But in my honest opinion, there’s nothing in the world quite like a just-cool-enough-to-eat hard boiled egg. WAY better than cold ones. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-stay-warm-for-a-long-time/470752/7 "2008-11-03T00:57:54Z")
I love warm hard-boiled eggs with butter on them. When I was a kid it was always a special treat to get a warm H-B egg with butter. My boyfriend thought I was nuts when he saw me cutting an egg in half and buttering it, until he tried it himself. It makes the yolk taste richer and creamier. In return he turned me on to adding hard-boiled eggs to spaghetti. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-stay-warm-for-a-long-time/470752/8 "2008-11-03T03:55:25Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > If you want 'em cold fast, **SeanArenas** has the right idea: put 'em in an ice bath. > > But in my honest opinion, there’s nothing in the world quite like a just-cool-enough-to-eat hard boiled egg. WAY better than cold ones. This was the first time I ate a non-cold hard boiled egg. It was astonishingly good. ---
**Author:** ![SeanArenas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeanArenas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeanArenas)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-boiled-eggs-stay-warm-for-a-long-time/470752/9 "2008-11-03T23:21:05Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > This was the first time I ate a non-cold hard boiled egg. It was astonishingly good. Oh yeah, hot hard boiled eggs are the bomb. This is why I only hard boil 2 or 3 eggs at a time. As a kid, we used to hard boil a whole dozen at once, and then eat them over a few days. At one point, I told mom that I like them better warm (and with a touch of salt sprinkled on - never heard of butter), and we started just boiling as many as we would eat at a time. nummies!