We find the time saved by not tempering the eggs worth the gamble. 2. Drop the eggs into boiling water. Eggs that are added to a pot of boiling water rather than brought to a boil along with the cold water in the pot will be easier to peel.
Cover them with cool water by 1 inch. Cover the pan with a lid and bring water to a rolling boil over high heat; when the water has reached a boil, reduce heat to medium-high and set the timer for the desired time. Boil for 6 – 7 minutes over medium-high heat for perfect hard boiled eggs.
Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat to low (so that there's no bubbles) and use skimmer to gently and slowly add the eggs to the water. Then, turn the heat back up to a boil. Set a timer and cook the eggs for 6 to 7 minutes for soft-boiled eggs and 12 to 14 minutes for hard-boiled eggs.
Leave eggs in the ice bath for 10+ minutes to allow for thorough cooling/easy peeling (you can place them under running cold water instead, but without the cold shock from the ice bath, you may have a harder time peeling, especially if your eggs are farm fresh like ours).
As soon as the water begins to boil, turn off the heat and cover the pot. Leave the eggs in the hot water for anywhere from 10-12 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs. The 10-minute eggs will have vibrant, creamy yolks, while the 12-minute yolks will be paler and opaque, with a chalkier texture.
Fill pot with water to completely cover the eggs at least 1 inch above eggs and turn heat to high. Bring water to a boil, takes approximately 15 minutes. As soon as eggs start to boil, let boil for 10-12 minutes (I do 11 minutes).
If you boil an egg for five or 10 minutes, it becomes firm and cooked. If you boil it for hours, it becomes rubbery and overcooked.
For one to four eggs, bring the water to a rolling boil, cover the pot, and turn the heat down to its lowest setting for 12-14 minutes. For five to eight eggs, cook for 15 to 18 minutes. For nine to one dozen eggs, cook for 20 minutes. After cooking, transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water.
Chef Ramsay opts to boil his eggs for four and a half minutes to keep the egg's center slightly soft. When your eggs are finished boiling, drain the water and run the eggs under cold tap water in the pot. According to Chef Ramsay, cooling the eggs as quickly as possible prevents their yolks from turning gray.
The fresher the eggs, the harder they are to peel. This is because the egg white or “albumen” in a fresh egg has a relatively low pH level, making it acidic. When cooked, these fresh egg whites bond strongly to the inner shell's membrane.
Give Eggs Time To Cool
The quick cooling of the hard-boiled eggs causes the egg whites to contract, freeing them from the membrane. If you let them cool for about 15 minutes, the peeling is much easier.
Apparently super fresh eggs are difficult to peel because the pH of the white is more acidic which causes it to adhere to the shell membrane more tightly. Two solutions here – use older eggs or add a little bicarb soda to the cooking water to increase the pH.
Tip: Just place the egg on a hard surface, like the counter, and spin it like a top. As it's spinning, grab it with your fingers ever-so-briefly and immediately let go. If it keeps spinning, it's raw. If it stops dead, it's boiled.
According to The Kitchn, the first sign that your boiled eggs were left on the stove too long is if their yolks are a strange gray or white color, or seem to be falling apart. The other indicator that your eggs were over-boiled is if they smell like sulfur after you freshly peeled them.
If you boil an egg for five or 10 minutes, it becomes firm and cooked. If you boil it for hours, it becomes rubbery and overcooked.
NaCl or salt is added to the water when boiling eggs as the addition of salt or other non-volatile solid help in reducing the vapour pressure of the liquid. Which in turn increases, the boiling point i.e the temperature at which the vapour pressure equals the atmospheric pressure.
Bring water to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to moderately high and cook eggs at a gentle boil, uncovered, 10 minutes. Pour off hot water. If using eggs right away, shake pan gently so eggs bump into one another (to crack shells). Run cold water into pot to stop cooking.
Add salt and vinegar to the water before cooking.
The salt permeates the shell a little bit, and the vinegar helps to break down the shells, making them easier to peel.
Cook for the following times, depending on how you like your eggs: 5 minutes for soft boiled, 7½ minutes for semi-firm or 10 minutes for hard-boiled. Remove the eggs with the spoon and serve with hot, buttered toast, or allow to cool before peeling.
Soft Boiled (in the shell) [Oeuf a la Coque] - boiling time 3 to 4 minutes. Soft Boiled (without shell) [Oeuf Mollet] - boiling time 5 minutes. Hard Boiled [Oeuf Dur] - boiling time 8 to 10 minutes served with or without the shell.