How to determine when an egg Is cooked
Boiled eggs make wonderful additions to breakfast or lunch, and can be used in deviled eggs or all sorts of other snacks. Because a raw egg and a boiled egg look just the same, however, it can be difficult to know when an egg is finished cooking. If you're unsure, you can learn a few simple procedures to make sure you cook them properly each time, and how to quickly distinguish between a raw egg and a cooked egg.
1
Cover raw eggs with cold water. Take however many raw eggs you want to boil and put them in a heavy-bottomed pot. Gently, fill the pot with cold water, taking care not to jostle the delicate eggshells too much. Use enough to cover the eggs by about an inch. Put the pot, uncovered, over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil.
Never add raw eggs to boiling water. Boiling the water first results in the most inconsistent cooking process, often ending with broken shells, leaky eggs, and greenish yolks. Bringing the eggs up to temperature slowly ensures even cooking.
2
Turn off the heat as soon as the water boils. Depending on how you want your eggs cooked, you can remove the egg at different times in the process, but the easiest to remember and the most sure way to cook eggs, however, is to remove the pot from the heat just after it reaches a boil and leave the eggs in the water until the water cools. Boiled this way, you can be confident the eggs are hard-boiled and solid
Add eggs to cool water and heat to boiling over medium-high heat
Remove the water from the heat as soon as it boils
Cover the pot with a lid
Let the eggs sit for 15 minutes, or until the water becomes cool enough to dip a finger in
3
Watch the clock for more specific yolks. If you want a softer-boiled egg, or you want to eat more quickly, you can remove the eggs from the simmering water after a variable amount of time has elapsed. If you want to do this, turn the heat down slightly, to about medium, when the water reaches a boil, and start watching the clock.
For soft-boiled eggs, remove after 2 minutes. The whites should be cooked thoroughly, and the yolks should still be somewhat runny. Rinse immediately in cold water to stop the cooking process, or they'll become quickly over-done.
For medium-boiled eggs, remove after 4 1/2 minutes. The yolks of medium-eggs should be just about solid, but moist, more like a custard than a hard-cooked egg.
For hard-boiled eggs, remove after 8 minutes. The yolks of hard-boiled eggs are crumbly and bright yellow, completely solid, but with none of the grayish-green around the yolk that over-cooking yields.
4
Consider adding salt or vinegar to the water. It's a common misconception that adding salt to water will raise the boiling point and result in a more uniform boil, or will make the egg easier to peel. It is true, however, that adding salt will season the water, affecting the flavor (even in hard boiled eggs), but you'd need to add an irrational amount of salt (about a half-cup) to raise the temperature even a few degrees.
Adding about a teaspoon of vinegar, however, will help to keep the white intact, should the shell crack any during the boiling process, without affecting the flavor significantly. Consider adding a small amount to keep your eggs solid.
5
Simmer, don't boil. Greenish or grayish rings around the yolk are a telltale sign that you've boiled the egg either at too-high a temperature, possibly by dropping it directly into boiling water, or that you cooked it for too long. To avoid this, don't cook eggs at a rolling boil, but turn it down to about medium temperature, cooking them at a quick simmer. There should still be bubbles, but not so many that the eggs jostle around and rattle the pot.
The green-gray color results from iron in the egg yolk interacting with sulphur in the white, and only happens when they react at high temperature. You'll never reach that high temperature if you bring the eggs up gradually and remove them from the heat in time.
6
Use the slow cool-down if you lost track of time. If you added your eggs to boiling water, or haven't been watching the clock, don't fear. Make sure they've been in the water for at least 5 minutes, and them cover the pot and remove them from the heat. Wait 10 minutes and they'll be done every time.
1
Cover raw eggs with cold water. Take however many raw eggs you want to boil and put them in a heavy-bottomed pot. Gently, fill the pot with cold water, taking care not to jostle the delicate eggshells too much. Use enough to cover the eggs by about an inch. Put the pot, uncovered, over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil.
Never add raw eggs to boiling water. Boiling the water first results in the most inconsistent cooking process, often ending with broken shells, leaky eggs, and greenish yolks. Bringing the eggs up to temperature slowly ensures even cooking.
2
Turn off the heat as soon as the water boils. Depending on how you want your eggs cooked, you can remove the egg at different times in the process, but the easiest to remember and the most sure way to cook eggs, however, is to remove the pot from the heat just after it reaches a boil and leave the eggs in the water until the water cools. Boiled this way, you can be confident the eggs are hard-boiled and solid
Add eggs to cool water and heat to boiling over medium-high heat
Remove the water from the heat as soon as it boils
Cover the pot with a lid
Let the eggs sit for 15 minutes, or until the water becomes cool enough to dip a finger in
3
Watch the clock for more specific yolks. If you want a softer-boiled egg, or you want to eat more quickly, you can remove the eggs from the simmering water after a variable amount of time has elapsed. If you want to do this, turn the heat down slightly, to about medium, when the water reaches a boil, and start watching the clock.
For soft-boiled eggs, remove after 2 minutes. The whites should be cooked thoroughly, and the yolks should still be somewhat runny. Rinse immediately in cold water to stop the cooking process, or they'll become quickly over-done.
For medium-boiled eggs, remove after 4 1/2 minutes. The yolks of medium-eggs should be just about solid, but moist, more like a custard than a hard-cooked egg.
For hard-boiled eggs, remove after 8 minutes. The yolks of hard-boiled eggs are crumbly and bright yellow, completely solid, but with none of the grayish-green around the yolk that over-cooking yields.
4
Consider adding salt or vinegar to the water. It's a common misconception that adding salt to water will raise the boiling point and result in a more uniform boil, or will make the egg easier to peel. It is true, however, that adding salt will season the water, affecting the flavor (even in hard boiled eggs), but you'd need to add an irrational amount of salt (about a half-cup) to raise the temperature even a few degrees.
Adding about a teaspoon of vinegar, however, will help to keep the white intact, should the shell crack any during the boiling process, without affecting the flavor significantly. Consider adding a small amount to keep your eggs solid.
5
Simmer, don't boil. Greenish or grayish rings around the yolk are a telltale sign that you've boiled the egg either at too-high a temperature, possibly by dropping it directly into boiling water, or that you cooked it for too long. To avoid this, don't cook eggs at a rolling boil, but turn it down to about medium temperature, cooking them at a quick simmer. There should still be bubbles, but not so many that the eggs jostle around and rattle the pot.
The green-gray color results from iron in the egg yolk interacting with sulphur in the white, and only happens when they react at high temperature. You'll never reach that high temperature if you bring the eggs up gradually and remove them from the heat in time.
6
Use the slow cool-down if you lost track of time. If you added your eggs to boiling water, or haven't been watching the clock, don't fear. Make sure they've been in the water for at least 5 minutes, and them cover the pot and remove them from the heat. Wait 10 minutes and they'll be done every time.