When it comes to boiling eggs, everyone has different preferences. But when it comes to hard-boiled eggs, it can be a little difficult to peel them.
Have you ever experienced the hassle of trying to get an egg out of a shell that is crumbling and becoming too bitty to deal with?
So, how do you make the perfect boiled egg?
Well, according to an author and egg expert, Chef J. Kenzie López-Alt, there is a simple way of making the perfect boiled egg – one that peels away easily from its shell.
According to the chef, the secret is to lower eggs directly into boiling water instead of letting the eggs sit in the water as it heats up to a boil.
There is a science to the perfect boiled egg, and it does really make a difference if an egg goes into boiling water as opposed to cold.
As López-Alt explains, “What really matters is whether you start them in already boiling water or you or you bring them up from cold. If you put them in cold water, heat it up and bring it up, the egg whites will actually fuse to the shell. …You lower them into already boiling water on the other hand, and the egg whites set up fast enough that they don’t actually fuse that shell and they come and they peel much more easily.”
He further suggests that a wok works better for boiling eggs instead of a traditional saucepan! Who knew?
He said, “The reason i like to use a wok is because you can gently put the eggs in down the sloped side and they kind of roll into the bottom instead of having to kind of drop them in and risk cracking them.”
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According to López-Alt, the perfect boiled egg is to “boil an inch or so of water in the bottom of a saucepan or wok.” From there, the chef suggests that you add the eggs right from the fridge, and it doesn’t even matter if the water covers them or not.
Once in the water, he states that they should be covered with a lid and then boil for 3 minutes for really soft-boiled eggs, 4 or 5 minutes for a soft-boiled egg, and 6 to 7 minutes for medium-boiled eggs.
If you want hard-boiled eggs then a range of 9 to 12 minutes is great. Then, the last step is to let them either naturally cool down, or plunge them into an ice bath.