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Hard Boiled and Soft Boiled Eggs

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This quick guide will help you boil your eggs to perfection.

Boiling Tips

  1. Before boiling, ensure the eggs are at room temperature first. If they were in the refrigerator, you can warm it quickly by running it under warm water.
  2. Fill a pot with enough water to cover the eggs, and bring to a boil.
  3. Carefully lower the eggs into the boiling water with a spoon.
  4. Once the water starts boiling again, reduce heat, since eggs can knock together in a fast boil, breaking the shell.
Timing

Begin timing when the water first boils.

Use this chart to figure out how long to boil, depending on the egg size and consistency you want.

  Soft Boiled
(Soft whites and soft yolks)
Medium
(Firm whites and soft yolks)
Hard Boiled
(Firm whites and firm yolks)
Small Egg 2 minutes 40 seconds 3 minutes 20 seconds 7 minutes
Medium Egg 3 minutes 3 minutes 50 seconds 8 minutes
Large Egg 3 minutes 20 seconds 4 minutes 15 seconds. 10 minutes

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Robert on 2015-10-19

uclalamb - Joe I love fried eggs! How do you get the edges crispy wuitoht over-cooking the yolk? I must know your egg secrets.Cat persimmons are my favorite fruit around this time of the year. I wish I had left some over to plop into the sangria I'm making this weekend

Anonymous User on 2012-09-23

I use this method, but I only let the egg sit for 7 mnteius. As just a hard-boiled egg to eat plain, I like the yolk to be a little softer -- not soft-boiled, just soft.And eggs taste so much better in Japan than in the U.S.! I think it has to do with the chickens' diets: lots of seaweed, sesame seeds and other things with lots of omega-3s. Yum.