Boil an Egg

It seems like a simple thing, but it's amazing how badly these little gems can turn out if you don't understand how to cook them. 

The Basics:

• Fresher eggs will have centered yolks when boiled, and older eggs will be off-center. If you're making deviled eggs, use fresh ones.
• Start with the raw eggs in the pan of cold water, and let the heat warm the eggs along with the water. 
• If you dump cold eggs into boiling water, they will crack.
• Boiling for too long creates green yolks and an "off smell" of sulfur. 
• If you let the eggs sit in hot water, off the heat source, they will continue to cook. This is useful! 

Hard Boiled (Firm yolks with no green color):

Method

1. Put your fresh eggs in a pan and fill to cover the eggs plus an inch or two of extra water.
2. Place the pan on high heat and allow it to boil.
3. Once it starts boiling (rolling boil, not tiny bubbles), wait 1 minute, cover the pan,  then turn off the heat source.
4. Allow the eggs to sit in the hot water for 12 minutes. You can let them sit a little longer without much worry, but after 15 minutes you risk turning the yolks green. 
5. Remove the eggs from the hot water and place them into a bowl of very cold tap water to halt the cooking process.  If the water gets warm, dump it out and refill with more cold water. 

Soft boiled (runny yolks):

Method

1. Place the eggs in the smallest pan available and only add enough cold water to cover them. Put the lid on the pan and place over the highest heat possible.
2. When the water comes to the boil, remove the pan from the heat and wait for 6 minutes. Leave the pan lid on.
3. After the time has elapsed, remove the lid and carefully remove each egg. Cut the top of each egg before serving in egg cups.

*Soft boiled method courtesy of Heston Blumenthal, chef and food scientist.