How to boil eggs

By Catalogs Editorial Staff

To know how to boil eggs, you have to know how to boil water!

If you are a dummy in the kitchen, stop being one now. Learning how to cook doesn?t require membership in Mensa. Men and women alike, young and old, need to be able to fend for themselves when it comes to food preparation because mama (or your wife or husband or whoever is doing the cooking) may not always be around.

First things first. Learn how to boil an egg. This is a basic.

Deviled eggs are one of the staple dishes during the holidays and at picnics and other gatherings as well. If you can learn to boil an egg correctly and then devil it you will be able to bring something to the table other than your appetite.

Boiled eggs are an important component in potato salad and for topping on chef salads and spinach salads. A boiled egg with a dash of salt is a wonderful snack.

One boiled egg has approximately 70 calories in it. Eggs are considered a nutritional powerhouse and even a super food because they?re rich in protein. They are also high in cholesterol but if you eat eggs in moderation this shouldn?t be a problem. More than half of the 5 grams of fat in an egg is unsaturated, which is good. A hard-boiled egg provides you with a good dose of minerals and vitamins and 6 grams of easily digestible protein.

GET STARTED

It?s time to boil some eggs. Retrieve your eggs. Make sure they don?t have any cracks in them. Put them in a pot filled with COLD water. Put the eggs in a single layer in the pan. Cover the eggs with a couple of inches of water. The water much be COLD. Cold water prevents the shells from cracking while boiling. Adding a tablespoon of vinegar to the cold water prevents the whites of the eggs from running out of the eggs if they do crack while boiling. However, keep in mind that the addition of vinegar may alter the taste of the boiled egg.

Some cooks contend that adding a teaspoon of salt to the water lessens the chance of the eggs breaking and also makes them easier to peel.

Bring the eggs to boil on high heat. As soon as the water begins to boil, remove the egg-filled pan from the burner for 15 seconds. Turn the heat to low and put the pan back on the burner. Allow the eggs to simmer for a minute on the low heat. Remove the pan from the heat and put a lid on the pan, setting the pan off to the side.

Allow the eggs to sit in the hot water for approximately 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, remove one egg using a slotted spoon to check and see if the eggs are done. Put the egg under cold water and then slice it open. It if is still runny, it’s not done.

You will know that you have achieved the perfect hard-boiled egg when the yolk is set (not soft or runny) and the egg white is tender. Ideally, there shouldn’t be any discoloration or darkening of the yolk in the area where the white surrounds the yolk. If the egg doesn’t appear to be done, allow the remaining eggs to sit in the hot water for another 15 to 20 minutes.

When you are satisfied that the eggs are fully cooked, put them in a bowl of ice water and run cold water over them, This cools them down. When eggs sit in cold water they are easier to peel and this also lessens the chance that a dark line is going to form on the eggs.

A peeled, hard-boiled egg can be safely keep in the refrigerator in water in an uncovered container for two to three days. That’s it. Bon appetit!

TIPS

One of the problems with boiled eggs if they aren’t boiled properly, is getting them to peel easily. An older egg peels easier than a new egg. Buy your eggs several days in advance of boiling them. Fresh farm eggs that are hard-boiled are going to prove challenging when it comes to peeling them.

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If you have boiled new eggs and can’t get them to peel, put them in the refrigerator overnight or for a few days and then peel them. It will prove much easier.