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| Seven minutes to perfect eggs |
Boiled Eggs: Not So Straightforward
Soft- and hard-boiled eggs are one of those things that seem like they should be easy to make. Like scrambled eggs. Yet boiling eggs in their shells can lead to all sorts of disasters: undercooked eggs, overcooked eggs, eggs that break in the boiling water and eggs that don’t peel easily. Let me solve all of these issues in one short post.
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How to Eat Boiled Eggs
Boiled eggs go great on a salad. They make excellent egg salad sandwiches with mayo, celery, salt and pepper. Eggs are a complete protein that make a great snack, and keeping boiled eggs in the fridge ensures there is always something ready to eat. I prefer soft boiled to hard boiled because I like the creaminess of them. My kids prefer hard boiled, so I often have both in the fridge.
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| My recipe has you boil the water before adding the eggs |
How to Cook Soft- or Hard-Boiled Eggs
For perfect boiled eggs, I start with boiling the water. Most recipes have you add the eggs first. I avoid this because it seems to make them harder to peel later. So bring the water to a boil. Then, just before you gently drop the eggs in, reduce the heat to a simmer. This helps keep the shells in tact. Once the eggs are in, increase the heat back up to a boil.
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| Reduce heat to a simmer, then gently tip in the eggs. |
For soft-boiled eggs, set the timer for seven minutes. If you like hard-boiled, you can increase the time to ten minutes. If you’re somewhere in between, you can try eight minutes and see if that is to your liking.
While the eggs are boiling, fill a bowl large enough to hold your eggs comfortably with ice water. When the timer goes off, scoop the eggs into the ice bath and let cool. Then, gently tap the egg on the counter top to crack the shell. Try to peel away the shell with the clear membrane that sits between the egg and the shell. This is key to getting an easy peel.
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| Plunge eggs into an ice bath for an easy peel |
You can store the eggs in the shells in the fridge if you like, but it is easier to peel them sooner rather than later. Store the eggs in an airtight container in the fridge to be ready to use in salads, sandwiches or as a handy snack.
Perfect Boiled Eggs
Makes up to 6 eggs
20 minutes
Printer Friendly
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| Easy peel soft-boiled eggs. |