Alex cooks all the time, but the one thing that he can never seem to figure out is how exactly to boil an egg. It’s weirdly hard! (I always hear him cursing in the kitchen.) So I was psyched to come across this funny website, Eggwatchers, which walks you right through it. Bravo!
i don’t eat eggs so don’t have to wonder:).
i always put a bit of vinegar in the water. it makes the shell come off much easier!
sorry…i am just getting caught up on my favorite blogs and saw this post. i actually posted about the perfect hard boiled egg and thought i would share, in case it’s helpful to you: http://browngoat.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/arugula-salad-and-sweet-potatoes/
xxo.
hello Joanna,
just lie “wonderchris” i am domestically-challanged as well ;)
so i found this hilarious and very practical.
thanks a lot for sharing!
You share really a perfect solution.I likes this.It is great to visit this.
i do it delia smiths way and it turns out perfect every time :)
So many useful tips here! I was just having this conversation with a friend last weekend! I have been following Mark Bittman’s instructions from “How to Cook Everything” – for a semi-soft, bright yellow yoke that’s not runny he says to put the eggs in the pot of water (not yet boiling), bring to a rolling boil, then shut off the heat and let them sit in the hot water for 9 minutes – then plunge into an ice bath. Its worked perfectly for me – but I still have been struggling with the peeling part, so I’m thankful for the tips above!
I just cracked up thinking about him cursing in the kitchen over a spoiled boiling attempt! Hopefully you won’t have to get “earmuffs” for Toby!!
the perfect hard boiled egg… place egg(s) in water on the stove, turn to high. Keep stove on until water is in a rolling boil. Once rolling boil, cover pot with lid and turn off the stove. Leave on burner, covered, for 12 minutes. MOST IMPORTANT after the 12 min, put in ice bath immediately, this keeps the eggs from getting the sulfur taste (stops egg from cooking). ENJOY!!!
I feel his pain!!!
Thank you for that link!
isn’t it funny that everyone has a different way for such a simple thing? Until last year when my crazy little mind finally locked it in my memory, I had to call my mother in law every time I boiled an egg to remind me. She covers them in water, brings to a boil, then covers and turns off the heat and lets them recline for 12 minutes. Works every time.
My parents made boiled eggs every Sunday so I’m a pro:
* Make sure the pot is rapidly boiling and has enough water to cover the egg totally.
* Make sure the egg is room temperature, and not cold.
* Prick a hole in the top of the egg.
* Gently place it in the rapidly boiling water and time it for 4 minutes for a runny yolk (medium – large egg).
* Enjoy your dippy yolk with toast soldiers!
My g-ma used to make me some sort of cooked egg in a cup mixed with torn up bread. I have no idea what this was but I loved it. Does anyone have any ideas?
Mum always had the knack of telling when the egg’s half-boiled or hard, I guess you pick up when you’re 50 lol :P Anyways, great entry! ^_^
Haha, funny pictures. :)
ha I LOVE this. every time I think about boiling eggs I always have to call my dad to reconfirm!
that’s quite a cute idea! I quie enjoyed the 4minute Bjork video that I haven’t seen for ages while the timer was set while my egg was being “cooked” !
What a great site, thanks for sharing ! :) I just wrote a post last week on my perfect boiled egg. http://tinyurl.com/659z4se
My boyfriend made this :) *SO PROUD*
i learned how to perfectly hardboil an egg from Rachel Ray!! Put the eggs in the water, heat it to a boil. Let the water boil for about 5 minutes. Turn off the burner but put a lid over it. Keep the lid on to trap in the steam for 15 minutes…then it will be ready to be cooled and peeled!
also… you know how to tell if an egg is boiled or not right? Put it on the counter and spin it. If it spins fast it is boiled. If it stops right away it isn’t ;)
I love it! The little animations are so cute! :)
We have soft boiled eggs often for breakfast and never seemed to get them just right…until christmas came bearing this:
http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-Egg-Rite-Timer/dp/B00004UE75/ref=pd_bxgy_k_img_b
perfect every time!
Those pictures are hilarious. I can’t boil eggs. I’m no good at easter time.
My Heart Blogged
For some reason, whenever I want to sign up for a contest, I can never see the word verification but it showed up today…anyways, I had to comment because this was the weirdest coincidence. I was googling this not twenty minutes ago because my boyfriend is at home boiling eggs for deviled eggs for my mom’s birthday tomorrow. That was so funny!
oh this is so funny! just this morning my husband and I attempted to make some soft boiled and we went through a few eggs before getting right!! who knew it would be this hard! I love your blog!!
I was the same way too only about poached eggs. This woman showed me how to make them and they’re perfect every time!!
http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/how-to-poach-an-egg-smitten-kitchen-style/
truly life-changing!! i can make chocolate cake and finnish cinnamon buns from scratch, roast a chicken, and make my own salad dressing, but hard-boiling eggs has never failed to trick me (and also make me waste 3 eggs in the process)!
joanna, this post is the best!
Love those funny illustrations!
My brother has this beep egg and I really didn’t think it worked cause he’d already tried things that you boil with your spaghetti, etc…
But this egg is seriously amazing. And it plays hilarious tunes when the egg is soft, medium or hard boiled.
Works perfectly every time!
Hope that helps..! x
Joanna, this is brilliant! Might have to reblog and reshare. You have the cutest posts.
Perfect eggs a la David Tanis: add eggs to simmering water, cook 9 minutes, then into a bowl of ice water to stop cooking. After a minute or so in the cold water, tap the eggs to crack the shells and return to the cold water for a few more minutes- this will loosen the shells and make them effortless to peel. Perfect every time, with the centers of the yolks still tender!
Too funny : )
I always buy medium size and boil for 7 minutes – what does this reveal about me : ) Answers on a postcard or visit my blog : )
So cute. Love how it snows when the egg comes straight from the fridge. I was so surprised that a large egg takes 8 mins for hard-boiled. Useful!
oh, wow, tina, i’ve never heard of that!
My aunt gave me the most genius thing that makes it super easy to get perfect eggs every time – a plastic egg that changes colour as you boil it, showing you exactly when they’ve reached soft/medium/hard-boiled.
It adjusts depending on how many eggs you boil, whether you start with hot or cold water etc (my aunt says it has an ‘egg-like experience’) and it never fails.
Hands down my best kitchen gadget! (Now I might go and have some eggs & soldiers for breakfast… :)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Egg-Perfect-Colour-Changing-Timer/dp/B0000CFGB5
Hilarious! I’m always so scared to admit I can’t boil an egg to my liking!
-Michelle
Those eye timers that you put in the water work great!
Melanie
http://www.theiconicblog.com
Haha, this is adorable!
(I like poached eggs best, personally, but…)
windeater.blogspot.com
This is awesome! I love soft boiled eggs, but they’re always too hard to time right. Can’t wait to make “six minute eggs” this weekend :)
hehe this made me smile. and yes, boiling eggs can be challenging, even for adept cooks… why is that??!! thanks for sharing : )
happy weekend.
This is so cute! I always forget the part about giving it extra time to cook if it’s been in the fridge!
that is so freaking cute!!!
i can never remember how to properly boil a damn egg, so thanks for sharing!
I love boiled eggs too — and I cheat & use these adorable pods that crack me up: http://tulipsandflightsuits.squarespace.com/tulips-flight-suits/2011/2/14/working-from-home-lunch.html
ahahahaha this is so awesome! cute, quirky and totally useful :)
My husband was determined to make the best deviled eggs ever. So after a lot of trying (and eating) he really did come up with a good egg recipe. Eggs, out of the fridge and into a pot, water level about one inch above the eggs, add some vinegar (this makes the eggs easier to peel), bring the water to a boil, remove from the heat and cover for 10 minutes. Perfect eggs and easy to peel every time!
Thanks Joanna. I’ll have to strategically leave this open on my computer so my boyfriend can see it (he can’t boil an egg to save his life!)
ya its a cute website, until you are waiting for your egg to cook and there are really crazy videos playing. please warn your readers LOL
I have the same problem as Jayne. We get our eggs straight from the chickens at my parent’s farm and they won’t peel.
I love this webpage, I’ll have to bookmark it for Easter and some store bought eggs :)
Funny enough, non-cooks seem to joke about only being able to make egg on toast in the kitchen. Yet, in my opinion, making the perfect scramble egg is often more difficult than something that requires a lot of ingredients. I guess, quality is really better than quantity.
I figured out how to boil the perfect egg when I saw a HowCast video of it online a couple of years ago. You just get a small pot of water on the stove with the eggs in them already (straight from the fridge or not). Set the heat on medium high (6). Once the water starts boiling, you start your timer for 8 minutes (less if you want soft boiled). Take off the heat, drain the water and turn your faucet to the coldest setting. Let the eggs sit under the cold water for about 3-5 minutes. Peel then serve. :)
Patricia Ann
http://www.theshapesofthings.com
Haha! I just posted about this this week too when featuring a deviled egg recipe. It’s not as easy as one thinks!
I love this! And all these tips in the comments! My trick? Put the egg in the water, turn on the stove, come back when I know it’s been in there too long. Always a VERY hard boiled egg!
Oops.. I meant to mix with bread in A bowl.
I learned from my grandma and the eggs are perfect every time regardless of size. Put egg in water enough to cover. For solf-boiled (when you want to have them runny inside to mix with bread in my bowl) 3 minutes after waters starts boiling. Hard boiled, 8 min. Nothing to it. :) Enjoy your eggs!
genius!!!!
brilliant!
Put the egg in the water BEFORE it boils (like boiling potatoes). When it floats, it’s done. Fool-proof.
This is an especially perfect post, as I’m sure many people will be wondering about this with all those Easter Eggs to be dyed soon!
how genius! I always seem to take it out just a little before it’s the way I like it. Now I know the exact time to wait.
Word on the street is that it takes *exactly* 8 minutes to get a hard boiled egg. You put the egg in when the water is boiling and set a timer and it should come out perfectly each time. Good luck Alex!
these comments are awesome, such great tips!!
oh jayne, i’d never heard that before — fascinating. (and i LOVED deviled eggs, i could eat them by the dozen:)
The only problem my mother and I had with eggs was the peeling part, especially for deviled eggs.
She read somewhere that you should use older eggs for a smoother peel. The fresher the eggs, the harder they will be to peel. Something to do with the acidity.
a few years ago i was reading a blog that said to take an egg straight out of the fridge and into the water (not boiled yet). stick it on the stove and once it starts to boil, count down 7 mins and VOILA, the most perfect boiled eggs. with the most bright yellow centres! it’s worked like a charm!
The illustrations are HILARIOUS!!! :))
I just put an egg in a pot with cold water, let it all come up to a boil, turn the heat off, cover the pot and let stand for 10 minutes. Perfect every time.
martha stewart taught me how. bring the eggs to a boil then put the lid on and a timer for ten minutes. after the timer goes off throw them in either an ice bath or really cold tap water.
crack the egg from the top when peeling!
Honestly, I never know what I’m doing when I boil an egg. I fill a pot with cold water a few cold eggs, set it over medium-heat and cover it with a lid. When the water starts boiling I remove the pot from the heat and let the eggs “cook” for 10-20 minutes.. or 30.. or 40. Thanks for the website – it’s hilarious.
I do the – as soon as the water boils, put on lid and turn off heat trick and it works perfectly every single time! The biggest problem I have is the peeling, sometimes it comes off in a few quick pulls and others it’s like torture but I never know why.
That’s awesome! I love making hard boiled eggs, and then mixing them with avocado to make green egg salad (I bet it would be tasty on toast). I’ve found by tapping eggs on their head (?) – the narrow part at the top – in order to get a crack going, it yields the best peeling results.
Becca
I came across these instructions from a Chocolate & Zucchini post a couple years ago and it has kind of changed my life. Perfect every time!
http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2009/01/perfect_hardboiled_eggs.php
It’s hard to keep track of the steps for some reason. Peeling is complicated to; I could use a diagram for that. I just know: don’t eat an egg that floats!
Every Italian-American kid knows that pastina is the single most effective way to fix everything.
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