# Perfect Boiled Eggs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 14, 2008, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-boiled-eggs/467915 "2008-10-14T18:25:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Finally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/67e7ee/32.png) [@Finally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finally)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-boiled-eggs/467915/1 "2008-10-14T18:25:50Z")
Inspired by the Argh! Careless Cooking Errors thread. Put eggs in pan, cover with cold water, put top on pot, turn heat on high. Just wait until the water boils and turn off the heat. The eggs will cook in the water in about 20 minutes. Never again wreck a pot from boiling it dry! ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-boiled-eggs/467915/2 "2008-10-14T18:30:46Z")
But that takes twice as long as just putting an egg in boiling water for 10 minutes (followed by a cold bath to arrest cooking). ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-boiled-eggs/467915/3 "2008-10-14T18:32:18Z")
I like Alton’s method better. Eggs in enough water to cover them by one inch or so. Bring right to a boil, remove from heat.\* Wait 15 minutes. Pour out hot water, replace with cold water. When eggs are cool enough to handle, peel immediately. Salt to taste. Gobble. - He accomplishes this with an electric kettle. Me, too. > [@Skammer](#): > > But that takes twice as long as just putting an egg in boiling water for 10 minutes (followed by a cold bath to arrest cooking). IMHO, the objective should be the best-cooked egg, not the fastest-cooked egg. ---
**Author:** ![clarkstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@clarkstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clarkstar)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-boiled-eggs/467915/4 "2008-10-14T18:33:36Z")
:smack: ---
**Author:** ![clarkstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@clarkstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clarkstar)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-boiled-eggs/467915/5 "2008-10-14T18:36:41Z")
i like my eggs full grown and barbequed ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-boiled-eggs/467915/6 "2008-10-14T18:38:00Z")
ok, so what about a perfect soft boiled egg then? I keep overcooking mine. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-boiled-eggs/467915/7 "2008-10-14T18:40:23Z")
I can vouch for the OP’s method working wonderfully…as long as you don’t turn them off and then forget about them for a few hours.:smack: On the other hand, the freaky greenness of the yolks was quite striking. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-boiled-eggs/467915/8 "2008-10-14T18:42:31Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > ok, so what about a perfect soft boiled egg then? I keep overcooking mine. I am eager to find this out myself. I plan to try Alton’s method tonight and simply wait 5 minutes instead of 15. > [@Telperien](#): > > On the other hand, the freaky greenness of the yolks was quite striking. This means the egg is badly overcooked. ---
**Author:** ![Finally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/67e7ee/32.png) [@Finally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finally)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-boiled-eggs/467915/9 "2008-10-14T18:47:39Z")
Guilty of overcooking, I leave them on the stove overnight most of the time. My SO is positive I’m going to get salmonella one of these days. But I’ve been doing it for years and it hasn’t happened yet. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-boiled-eggs/467915/10 "2008-10-14T19:49:24Z")
America’s Test Kitchen also reminds you that after you pour out the water, move the pot (with the eggs still in it) back and fourth a few times. Bang 'em up, get the cracks started and they’ll be easier to peel. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-boiled-eggs/467915/11 "2008-10-14T19:52:28Z")
Shock them with ice water, not just cold water out of the tap. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-boiled-eggs/467915/12 "2008-10-14T20:03:08Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I am eager to find this out myself. I plan to try Alton’s method tonight and simply wait 5 minutes instead of 15. > > This means the egg is badly overcooked. Well, they become overcooked if you leave them in the hot water more than fifteen or twenty minutes, which was my point. ---
**Author:** ![NicorGasMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@NicorGasMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicorGasMan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-boiled-eggs/467915/13 "2008-10-14T20:06:02Z")
I always seem to under cook mine. I use AB’s method. I guess I don’t let water come all the way to the boil. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-boiled-eggs/467915/14 "2008-10-14T20:09:19Z")
> [@Telperien](#): > > Well, they become overcooked if you leave them in the hot water more than fifteen or twenty minutes, which was my point. Sorry I misunderstood. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-boiled-eggs/467915/15 "2008-10-14T20:11:31Z")
It seems to me that that method would depend on how big your pot is, how much water you put in, and how hot your stove gets. Methods that start with the water already boiling ought to be much more predictable. [QUOTE=NAF1138] ok, so what about a perfect soft boiled egg then? I keep overcooking mine. [/QUOTE] 6 minutes at the boil works for me. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-boiled-eggs/467915/16 "2008-10-14T20:15:55Z")
I’ve found that if you peel them right away, after the cold water, they peel much more easily than if you let them sit around for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-boiled-eggs/467915/17 "2008-10-14T20:34:53Z")
> [@Finally](#): > > Inspired by the Argh! Careless Cooking Errors thread. > > Put eggs in pan, cover with cold water, put top on pot, turn heat on high. Just wait until the water boils and turn off the heat. The eggs will cook in the water in about 20 minutes. Never again wreck a pot from boiling it dry! This method has been around for a VERY long time. I’ve been hardboiling eggs this way for 40 years and learned it from my mother, who had probably been doing it that way for as long. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-boiled-eggs/467915/18 "2008-10-14T20:45:21Z")
Perfect soft-boiled eggs: Put the eggs into a bowl of warm tap water for at least 15 minutes, so that they will be warm and not crack and leak from too rapid a temperature change when they hit the boiling water. If you try to start cold eggs out in cold water and bring them slowly to a boil, it’s too hard to judge just when to start timing them. The pre-warming eliminates this ambiguity. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a full rolling boil. Put the pre-warmed eggs into it and instantly set your timer: 3.5 minutes for large eggs, 4 minutes for jumbos. This assumes you like just-set whites and runny yolks, like me. Serve 'em up with hot buttered toast. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-boiled-eggs/467915/19 "2008-10-14T20:48:32Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Sorry I misunderstood. That’s OK. Now I set the timer and all is well with my eggs. They no longer impart a worrying hue to the egg salad. ---
**Author:** ![zofada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/df788c/32.png) [@zofada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zofada)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-boiled-eggs/467915/20 "2008-10-14T20:52:14Z")
No, no, no. A [perfect egg](http://discovermagazine.com/2006/feb/cooking-for-eggheads/) is cooked at 65° celsius (149° fahrenheit) for about an hour. Or at 67° celsius (153° fahrenheit) if you want a thicker yolk. And salmonella can’t survive for more than a few minutes in temperatures over 60° celsius, so cooking for an hour you should be safe.