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The simple and classic boiled egg, is one of the finest and easiest edible delights
known on earth, with just 70 calories, and full of nature’s most perfect form of
protein.
According to the American Egg Board, the terms “hard-” and “soft-boiled”
eggs are really misnomers, because boiling eggs makes them tough and rubbery. Instead,
these eggs should be “hard-” or “soft-cooked” in hot (still) water.
To Correctly Cook Hard-Cooked Eggs:
There are two problems you'll want to avoid: cracked shells and the ugly green
layer that can form around the yolk. For perfect cooking, start with eggs that don't
have any visible cracks.
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Bring your eggs to room temperature before cooking. If the egg has been stored in
the refrigerator it can be warmed gently under a flowing hot tap water. By bringing
the eggs to room temperature, they're much less likely to crack in the hot water.
Also the temperature of the egg at the start of the cooking process will affect
the cooking time. An egg that is at room temperature at the start of the cooking
process will require about 1 minute less cooking time than eggs taken directly from
the refrigerator.
NOTE: In case small cracks do develop, add salt to the cooking
water. The salt will help to speed up the denaturing of the egg white, causing less
of it to feather into the water. Use at least a tablespoon of table salt per two
quarts of water.
 Place them in a single layer in a pan with enough
cold water to cover eggs completely (approximately by 1 1/2 inches). Bring the water
to a boil, remove from heat, cover tightly with a lid, and allow to remain in the
water approximately 15 to 20 minutes. NOTE: Watch the time when cooking the
eggs carefully. Overcook causes a green layer to form around the yolk. This layer
is caused by a reaction between the iron in the yolk and the sulfur in the white.
Heat speeds up this reaction, so the longer your eggs cook, the greater the chance
of discoloration.
Then done cooking, place under running, cold water to cool quickly. This way of
cooking is also known as "coddling." It does not toughen the whites as boiling does.
This will also assist with the peeling process, as the cold water creates steam
between the egg white and the shell which makes the shell easier to remove.
Use the following cooking times as a guide for the desired firmness for the yolk
of each egg size (the whites will be firm):
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Egg Size
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Degree of Doneness
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Time Required
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Medium
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Soft-cooked yolk
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3 minutes
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Medium-cooked yolk
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5 minutes
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Hard-cooked yolk
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10 to 12 minutes
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Large
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Soft-cooked yolk
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4 to 5 minutes
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Medium-cooked yolk
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6 minutes
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Hard-cooked yolk
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12 to 15 minutes
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Extra Large
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Soft-cooked yolk
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5 minutes
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Medium-cooked yolk
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7 to 8 minutes
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Hard-cooked yolk
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18 minutes
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Soft-cooked eggs
A soft-cooked egg has a firm white and runny yolk.
To serve in egg cup, place egg in cup small end down, slice off large end of egg
with knife or egg scissors and eat from shell with spoon. You can also buy a good
egg topper from a kitchen store. They're very quick and practical. I finally bought
myself one, and now my eggs look beautiful when I top them!
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Medium - cooked eggs
A medium-cooked egg has a firm white and a slightly firm yolk.
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Hard-cooked eggs
A hard-cooked egg has both a firm white and yolk.
Hard-cooked eggs should never be boiled - simmer them in water. If boiled or cooked
too long, the protein toughens or becomes rubbery and a greenish or purplish ring
forms around the yolk. Extremely fresh eggs (organic eggs) are not recommended when making hard-boiled
eggs. They are very difficult to peel. This is the best use for eggs nearing their
expiration date. Refrigeration is necessary for hard boiled eggs if they eggs are
not to be consumed within a few hours. Hard-cooked eggs in the shell can be refrigerated
up to one week.
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 How
To Peel Hard-Cooked Eggs Easily:
This is what I do:
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I place the eggs in the pan they were cooked in and add cold water.
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I then crack the eggs under water (this seems to help loosen the membrane under
the shell).
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Start peeling at the larger end, where the air pocket is,
and remove the shell under running water to make the shelling easier.
You must get a hold of the membrane under the shell when you remove the shell. Very
fresh eggs are harder to peel. The fresher the eggs, the more the shell membranes
cling tenaciously to the shells.
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Hints and Tips:
When buying eggs, open the carton to be sure none of the eggs are cracked; discard
any that are, they may have bacteria that might contaminate the egg.
Be sure to store you eggs in the original egg carton in the refrigerator.
Don’t take them out and put them in the door. Every time the refrigerator
door is opened it exposes the egg to the room temperature.
To tell if an egg is hard-cooked or raw, place the egg on its side and spin it evenly
on a level surface; if it wobbles, it is raw.
If an egg is accidentally dropped on the floor, sprinkle it heavily with salt for
easy clean up.
You cannot hard-cook eggs in a microwave (they'll explode), but if you find after
peeling an egg that it is not quite done at the center, pierce it once or twice
with a fork, set microwave to medium power and cook the egg for 10 to 20 seconds
before checking for doneness.
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