How to Boil an Egg Perfectly

Boiling an egg sounds so easy for all of us. All you need is to put eggs in water and boil them for some time. Nevertheless, the after result of this simple cooking procedure is not always desirable. You might have already come across situations like overboiled egg, cracking of the eggshell in between boiling and difficulty in peeling the shell of the boiled eggs. The point is, even the easiest cookery methods require certain care from the cook's part. For boiling an egg perfectly, proper timing is pivotal after which comes other culinary basics.

Some useful tips for making perfect boiled eggs are low temperature setting and using an appropriate size utensil for cooking. We tend to boil eggs directly from the refrigerator. This increases the chances of cracking if cold eggs are put directly in hot water. So, the answer for, 'how to boil an egg without cracking the shell', is to set the chilled eggs aside for some time to let them catch up with the room temperature. Also, you can consider pin pricking at one end of the egg, so that pressure built up inside the egg during boiling escapes through it and reduces cracking chances.

Soft Boiling an Egg

Soft boiled eggs have a nearly set egg white with a fairly liquid or creamy yolk. For cooking perfect soft-boiled eggs, take a small saucepan (or medium-sized one if you are boiling many eggs) and pour enough water to cover eggs by approximately 1 cm. Gently place eggs at the bottom, one by one with the help of a tablespoon. Put the saucepan over high heat and wait till the water starts boiling. Immediately reduce heat to a simmering temperature and strictly watch the timings. If you love the taste of a true soft-boiled egg, remove from heat after 3 minutes. In case, you like already set egg white with a creamy yolk part, set the simmering time to 4 minutes. Accordingly, remove from heat and run boiled eggs under water to cool down.

Hard Boiling an Egg

Boiling perfect hard-boiled eggs is a bit simpler than making soft-boiled eggs. This is because, the timing is not so stringent in hard boiling eggs. Place eggs in a saucepan and slowly pour water to cover them, till the level reaches to about half an inch above the eggs. Place saucepan over a burner, setting it to high temperature. Bring water to a boiling temperature and set timing to exactly 3 minutes, while still maintaining high heat. Following this, take off the saucepan from heat and cover lid. This time, allow the eggs to set for 8 minutes. Then place your hard-boiled eggs under running water to cool down.

Boiling an Egg so it Peels Easily

Peeling difficulty of boiled eggs is a common incidence with freshly laid eggs. In case, you think they are not even 4 days old, do not forget to increase the boiling time by 30 seconds. Follow the same steps for making perfectly hard-boiled eggs. After allowing the eggs to stand in the cooking water for 8 minutes, transfer them in ice water. Keep the boiled eggs like that until ice is melted completely. This way, you can peel shell easily, without shredding the boiled eggs. Another alternative, from egg recipes, is to use a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar in the cooking water. Allow water to boil for 7 minutes and let the eggs stand in hot water for another 3 minutes. Then run them under cold water for easy peeling of the eggshell.

With these methods on to boil eggs to perfection, you do not have to deal with unpleasantly cracked eggs or the rubbery textured overcooked eggs. Never overboil the eggs or you will notice a grayish green covering in the yolk part. In such a case, the egg white is very difficult to digest. Over boiling also reduces nutritional value of eggs to a certain extent. So, if you know how long to boil an egg, you can make perfect boiled eggs for a healthy breakfast and benefit from all the nutrition it has to offer.