I have been cooking eggs a very long time and just a while ago, stumbled on what I thought was the perfect way to cook hard boiled eggs (This was in a Martha Stewart book). The result is the same as yours, BUT you start with the eggs covered in COLD water, bring to a low boil/simmer, remove from the heat, cover and allow to sit for TWELVE minutes, - same time as your instructions. They turn out perfectly. Either way, I never overcook or undercook any more.

The scrambled eggs are not how I have done them, but I will be following your instructions very soon. A few new techniques and we will be there. Thanks..

Hi Judi. This is the way my mom used to do it but I don't remember how long she would let them sit to get soft, med, or hard doneness.

What doneness does letting them sit for 12 minutes give you?

thanks,

With so many ways to cook eggs there is really no wrong way to do it. I used to cover the eggs with cold water and bring to a boil. Then I would turn the heat down to a simmer and let them cook for 6 minutes, this gave me eggs that were a bit soft in the middle.

I used this method for years with good success. In fact, we almost showed this way as well in the lesson (we even filmed it and it was edited into the video, but we cut it last minute).

It was cut because there is a draw back to this method and other methods that start in cold water. If starting in cold water, you must wait around in the kitchen for the eggs to come to a boil, so you know when to start the timer. If you walk away to do something else before the eggs start to boil, you will not know how long they have been boiling, so the timing will be off. This is because the timing in COLD water methods starts as soon as the eggs boil, you then turn down, or off (or whatever) the heat and then start the timer.

Basically this is why we chose the method of boiling/simmering eggs that we did. If you start with the water by itself, you can walk away and it can do its thing. If it starts to boil, that's okay, it's just water. Then you add the egg and immediately (no waiting) start the timer. Basically this way will give you more consistency which is a VERY important part of cooking.

Hope this helps!

Glad you cut the way you (and I) have boiled eggs for years, ie: starting with the eggs in cold water. I like the method in the lesson much better. Makes sense for the very reasons you mentioned.
thanks

tara

"With so many ways to cook eggs there is really no wrong way to do it."

Indeed. I happily use both methods - depending on my mood and whether I want to eat the egg hot or cold. For a standard hot boiled egg for breakfast - eaten out of the shell - I put the egg in cold, bring to the boil, then turn off heat and time: 3 min for soft/runny, 4 min for medium, etc.

For cold 'hard' boiled eggs I find the alternative method more reliable: 'soft' boiled eggs seem easier to peel when cooked this way. My timings tend to be lower than yours as we don't keep eggs in the refrigerator, but in a cool larder. (And anyway they don't last long enough to go off!)

A great lesson: thank you, but perhaps the question in your quiz about bloodspots is a bit ambiguous - unless one is familiar with Boolean logic. There are two statements in the stem: one asserts that blood spots are due to a ruptured blood vessel during egg formation (true), the other that they shouldn't be eaten (false). Thus the correct answer to the whole question is 'false': an answer 'true' would require both statements to be true. As it happens, the lesson did not say whether or not it is OK to eat them (I reckon it's fine), but just that 'you can remove them if you like', so perhaps the second statement is unnecessary.?

Never tried scrambled eggs that weren't well done and rubbery. I've always thought that was the way they had to be, to be cooked properly. I have to say that the results of your method are amazing! "These eggs may look like they're too runny..."... a true statement from the topic video, but they sure tasted good!

It's fine to cook them a bit more as well, just try keeping them soft and not dry like so many people cook them. Glad you liked them as is.

I glanced at Martha Stewart's method in a local newspaper, and immediately dismissed the cooking time as a typo. For years now, I have been boiling eggs by putting them in a pan with about an inch of water to cover, bringing the water to a full boil, turning off the heat, letting them cook for twenty minutes, then plunging them into ice water. They always come out perfectly cooked.

However, I hadn't noticed the part in her method about lidding the pan, or perhaps the paper left it out. I suppose this would account for the difference in time, and I'll have to try it this way.

As was said, there is really no wrong way to do it, but I prefer starting the eggs in cold water for one reason: It eliminates the possible variation in water temperature. One person's simmer might be 175 degrees, another's might be 200, and this can make quite a difference in how much the eggs get cooked over the total time. Also, putting a lot of refrigerator-temperature eggs into a pot of simmering water can significantly lower the temperature of that water, resulting in undercooked eggs. Three are not a big deal, but a dozen, on the other hand...

I'm not saying you can't get good results with this method, obviously you can. I just think it introduces a variable that isn't there with the method I use. As to the need to watch the pot until it boils, I just attach my probe to the side of the pan, and set the digital thermometer to sound an alarm when the water reaches a boil.

Speaking of peeling eggs, I know of three things that are supposed to make the eggs easier to peel. The first is using older eggs. The second is plunging them into ice water, which as well as stopping the cooking, is supposed to loosen the bond between the egg, the membrane, and the shell. The third is to put baking soda in the water (for no good reason I can think of)

However, it has been my experience that no matter what precaution I take, there are always at least one or two in the batch that just don't want to be peeled. Does anyone have a sure-fire method they would care to share?

In the scrambled eggs lesson it was mentioned that it is better to season with salt at the end of the cooking process cause salt breaks down the protein in the eggs. On the other hand in recipes after the lesson e.g. "Boursin Scrambled Eggs" tells to do seasoning of the eggs with salt before cooking process.
Is there some contradiction here? Does it really matter when to add salt or any other spices into the eggs? :)

It is best to add the seasoning after, but in the grand scheme of things, it will certainly not ruin the eggs if you add it at the beginning. Spices of course can be added whenever, it's just the salt that can affect the protein.

Good eye on the Boursin scrambled eggs though...that was before we did the lesson and if we were to do that recipe over we would add it at the end to be consistent.

Hope this helps!

After cooking eggs I find that a layer of egg is stuck to the pan. I have a Cuisinart Green Gourmet nonstick pan that I've taken good care of. I try to use plenty of oil during the cooking process but it still sticks. It is extremely hard to clean after. It is like a white film left in the pan. I notice in the videos that there is never/ very little egg residue after cooking eggs. Is it something about the pan or is my cooking method creating this problem?

I think that the reason you may have "egg stuck to the pan" is likely just due to your pan (sorry) you are using and not your cooking method. Unless you are cooking egg whites, as they often leave a thin (almost crispy) layer of egg after cooking.

Even the pan that we use in the video, has now been used many times...and even though we have taken great care with it, is is starting to stick. I think that most pans just start to loose some of their non-stick quality after a while (I am sure their are some that do not, but I haven't found one yet that doesn't).

Hope this helps!

When hard boiling eggs, I hard boil them in large batches. If you want to avoid cracking them due to them hitting the pan you can put a towel into the simmering water. That way you can plop them in with no worry of them cracking.

Why are some eggs harder to peal then others. Sometimes I make a batch and they peal very well. Other times they destroy the egg. Is this due to proper cooling of the egg after it is done boiling?

This is covered at the beginning of Topic 4. Basically, it has to do with the freshness of the egg. Cheers!

Well, yeah, that's what people say, but I've found that sometimes newer eggs peel quite easily, and sometimes older ones don't. Or sometimes all but one peel quite well, or that most are a chore, but one or two fairly jump out of their shells, no matter the age.

I'm curious how long one can keep hard boiled eggs in the fridge. Also, will an egg last longer if it is hard boiled rather than soft boiled or does it make a difference?

Hard boiled eggs can last up to one week in the refrigerator. Anything less than hard boiled (i.e. soft of medium boiled eggs) can be stored for a couple of days. Either way, right after cooking, make sure to cool them quickly in cold or ice water and then transfer to the refrigerator.

Thanks for the great lesson on preparing HB eggs! A question--should one begin with room temp, or chilled eggs?

Glad you liked the lesson. It's fine to use cold eggs - just lower them gently into the water and you'll be fine. Cheers!

To make your scrambled eggs more fluffy, is heavy cream the only thing to use?

You may want to watch the lesson on eggs, in particular topic 5, which is about scrambling eggs. Cheers!

Thanks Dawn!!

Hi
I want to know how to store Egg White and yolk separatly in freezer and how long can I keep it in , and how can I refresh them to reuse.

Here is another thread that might answer these questions for you. Cheers!