Eggs – Is there Really More than One Way to Boil an Egg?

When I set out to write a post on soft and hard-boiled eggs, I thought it would be easy.  Uncharacteristically (for me), I figured that my way was not only the right way, it was the only way. Really what’s to discuss about boiling an egg?  I figured that I would opine on how many minutes for each type (soft and hard), take a few pictures and be done.

But a quick look at several favorite cooking authorities gave me three different ways to “boil” an egg, all different from the way I have done it for years. (I put boil in parentheses because one method doesn’t boil the water at all.) You can probably find more variations if you have nothing better to do. They all work, so choose the one that suits you.

If you’re inclined to stop reading right now because you consider simple cooked eggs to be boring, then stay tuned for poached, scrambled and fried. But don’t be surprised if you wake up one morning and realize that a simple soft or hard-cooked egg with toast and a bit of tea or coffee sounds most appealing.

Soft-boiled or soft-cooked eggs

MotherWouldKnow – I’ve always made hard and soft-boiled eggs this way:

• Put a cold egg in a small pot with cold water to cover
• Bring the water to a rolling boil
• Boil the egg in the water
• Gently lift the egg out of the water after water has boiled for 3 minutes for a soft yolk or  4-5 minutes for a yolk that is less runny, but still not hard. If you want eggs mid-way between soft and hard, sometimes called “eggs mollet”, cook them for about 6 minutes. As you can see, timing is important. So either keep your eye on the clock or set a timer.

The New York Times cookbook (edited by Craig Claiborne, both original and revised editions)

• Put cold water into a small pot (without egg)
• Bring the water to a rolling boil
• Gently place the egg in the boiling water
• Turn the heat down so the water barely simmers (below a boil, with very small bubbles around the edges of the water)
• Cook the egg for 3-4 ½ minutes.

Julia Child from Mastering the Art of French Cooking

• Her technique is like the NY Times method, but she keeps the water “boiling slowly” while the egg cooks.

Harold McGee from Keys to Good Cooking – the “no boil required” technique

• Bring the water to just below the boiling point (small bubbles around the side, but no big bubbles and no bubbles toward the center of the pot.)  Note – you can do this by bringing water to a boil quickly and then lowering the temperature.
• Lower the egg into the water and cook 3-6 minutes for soft, 5-7 for mollet or medium-soft.

Hard-boiled eggs – Everyone seems to agree that older eggs are better because they are easier to shell than newer eggs. Julia Child didn’t give a method for hard-boiled, so there are only 3 techniques below.

MotherWouldKnow

• Use the same directions as for soft-boiled, but let the egg cook for 10 minutes.  
• When the egg is finished cooking, take it out of pot immediately and set it in a bowl.
• Run cold water over the cooked egg for a few minutes to cool it down or place water and ice cubes in the bowl, then refrigerate the egg until you are ready to peel it.

The New York Times Cookbook

• Use the same directions as for soft-boiled, but let the egg cook for 10 minutes.
• After cooking “plunge” egg in cold water.

Harold McGee

• Heat the water to a simmer (below boil).
• Gently place the egg in the water.
• Cover the pot, turn off the heat, and let the egg cook by sitting in the hot water for 10-12 minutes.
• Chill the cooked egg by putting it in cold or ice water

I use hard-cooked eggs for egg salad sandwiches and as a topping for salads.

Food safety tip – Never leave cooked eggs out; use or refrigerate them promptly.