Resource Mon Aug 06 2007

Perfectly Boiled Eggs

I was flipping through an old Martha Stewart Living magazine this weekend and stumbled upon something I'd missed the last time I read through it. It was instructions on how to boil a perfect egg. I remember my mother telling me to boil eggs for 12 minutes, so that's what I've always done, with less-than-desirable results. The confusion in my house has always been whether or not to start timing when the eggs go on the stove or when the water begins to boil. Turns out that neither is correct.

For perfect eggs, you're not supposed to boil the eggs at all, rather bring the water in which they're cooking to a boil.

Here's what "Martha" says:
Despite its name, a boiled egg shouldn't be boiled (which will yield rubbery results) but rather immediately removed from the heat once the cooking water comes to a boil. Place eggs in a saucepan large enough to accommodate them in a single layer. Fill pan with cold water, covering eggs by 1 inch. Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn off heat, cover, and let stand 90 seconds to 2 minutes for soft-boiled eggs, 1 minute 45 seconds to 2 minutes 15 seconds for medium-boiled, and 11 to 12 minutes for hard-boiled. Once the hard-boiled egg is cooked, transfer it to a bowl of ice water (this will prevent discoloration and facilitate peeling); let stand 2 minutes, then crack by gently pressing egg against a hard surface. Peel under cold, running water.

— Meghan Murphy Gill / Comments (0)