Answers
Everything people ask about boiling eggs — timing, egg size, altitude, peeling, the green yolk ring and storage. For the full method in one place, see the egg cooking time guide.
Questions
Twelve minutes at a rolling boil for a large egg. Small eggs need about 10 minutes 30 seconds, extra large about 13 minutes.
Six minutes at a rolling boil for a large egg, giving a fully set white and a warm, runny yolk.
Eight minutes at a rolling boil for a large egg. Pull at 7 minutes 30 seconds for a wetter centre.
After. Bring the water to a full rolling boil, lower the eggs in gently, then start the timer.
Boiling water, if you want repeatable results. A cold water start is gentler on the shells but the total time shifts with your pot and stove.
Questions
Yes, by roughly 30 seconds per size step. At the soft boiled end that is the difference between a liquid yolk and a setting one.
Add about 1 minute per 3,000 feet of elevation. Water boils cooler as you go up, so the egg cooks more slowly even at a full boil.
Not necessarily. These times assume cold eggs from the fridge. Room temperature eggs finish about 30 seconds sooner and crack slightly less often.
Two to three minutes for soft, about four and a half for hard. Far shorter than chicken eggs.
Questions
It is iron sulfide, a harmless reaction between sulfur in the white and iron in the yolk that happens when eggs are overcooked or cooled too slowly.
Use eggs 7 to 10 days old rather than very fresh, chill them in ice water for at least 10 minutes, and peel from the fat end under cool running water.
Usually thermal shock from cold eggs hitting boiling water, or eggs knocking together in a violent boil. A pin-prick in the fat end and a steadier boil both help.
Yes. Return it to boiling water for another minute or two. It will not be quite as even as an egg cooked straight through, but it is perfectly good.
Overcooking. The white firms up long before the yolk does, so extended boiling toughens it.
Questions
About one week, whether peeled or unpeeled, as long as they were refrigerated within two hours of cooking.
Not successfully as whole eggs. Both white and yolk turn tough and watery on thawing.
Spin it on a flat surface. A boiled egg spins smoothly because the contents are solid; a raw one wobbles.
Two to three minutes for soft boiled, at least five for medium, and ten or more for hard boiled if you want the easiest peeling.
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