How to boil an egg: The instructions, timings and ingredients you need

Nothing says childhood like toasted soldiers dipped in a runny egg yolk

Matty Edwards
Thursday 21 June 2018 12:00 BST
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A boiled egg and soldiers may be a basic staple of the British breakfast, but care and attention to detail are still required to get it spot on.

According to national treasure Delia Smith, it’s crucial never to boil eggs straight out of the fridge because cold eggs plunged into hot water might crack. Using a small saucepan and sticking to a gentle simmer are other ways to prevent cracking disasters.

Clearly it’s all about timings when it comes to boiled eggs in order to get your desired runniness, so you’re asking for trouble if you guess your timings rather than use a timer.

Soft-boiled eggs

After carefully lowering the egg into a pan of boiling water, Delia recommends one minute of simmering then to take the pan off the heat and put the lid on.

Six minutes will give you a runny yolk and wobbly white, whereas seven minutes will produce a creamier yolk and white that is completely set.

If you’re feeling confident and have some time on your hands, scientists say the best way is a lower, slower boil.

The key, according to chef and food writer J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, is to bring cold water to the boil, cook the eggs for 30 seconds, then add ice cubes to lower the temperature, before letting the water boil up again, and cook for 11 minutes.

Asparagus soldiers wrapped in crispy bacon are a tasty accompaniment to a soft boiled egg

Hard-boiled eggs

For hard-boiled eggs, Delia recommends putting eggs in a pan of cold water, bringing it to the boil and simmering for six to seven minutes.

The trick is to cool them immediately when they’re done under cold water for a couple of minutes until they are cool enough to handle.

If dishing up a boiled egg with the perfect consistency isn’t impressive enough, then you can peel a hard-boiled egg in seconds by putting it in a cup of water and giving it a shake. Don’t forget to put your hand over the top to stop the egg falling out.

Warning: microwaving a hard-boiled egg is potentially deadly, as it can cause it to explode.

As you’re tucking into your boiled egg, have a read of this, which tells you what your preferred method of consumption says about you as a person. Are you a no nonsense teaspoon user or soldier dipper who struggles to break free from convention?

Feeling more adventurous? Why not push the boat out and learn how to perfect the poached egg, and try this recipe with potato and ham broth.

This article was first published in December 2017

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