Wednesday 4 March 2009

TIP: HOW TO COOK PERFECT HARD BOILED EGGS


Everyone takes cooking eggs for granted. Well, it’s usually the one thing that all of us supposedly can do. But there is an art to the perfect boiled egg. The main thing I found is that you must bring your eggs to room temperature if they have been refrigerated. If you boil them straight from the fridge, your eggs will most definitely crack.

So for a full proof method, check out my tips below:

* Try to use fresh eggs if possible and one that is at room temperature (not straight out of the fridge).

* Make sure your saucepan is not too big, so the eggs do not have room to move and bang each other while the water is boiling/simmering.

* Always start with cold water in the saucepan and only just cover the eggs by 1cm.

* Use a kitchen timer if possible – this is more accurate than your watch or clock.

* Use a gentle simmer, never fast boiling water.

* If you want to slice or wedge your eggs and want your egg yolk to be in the middle, you can achieve this by using a chopstick or wooden spoon to gently swirl the eggs during the first two minutes of the water coming to the boil.

* Do not boil eggs longer than necessary as the yolks will turn dark and rubbery.

Method

Bring eggs to room temperature if they have been refrigerated. I normally quicken this process by placing them in a bowl with cold tap water.

Place eggs into a small saucepan and cover with cold tap water. Bring to the boil over medium heat.

Reduce heat and simmer for:
* 5 minutes if you like a softer centre.
* 6 to 7 minutes if you like a hard centre.

Immediately remove the eggs from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and use as desired.

2 comments:

lubnakarim06 said...

Wow noted.......Very useful tips.....I generaly pressure cook to get boiled eggs.

VG said...

Thanks Lubna. Never heard of pressure cooked eggs. How do you do it? Maybe you should put a post up on it.