I rarely cook from recipes, but I have learned that I should write them down because most people do cook with recipes. That said, there are many more people than I ever suspected who don’t know how to cook some very basic things.  They’ve simply never had to, and when posed with the need to, they draw a blank.

Boiling eggs is one example.  FYI, organic or free range eggs always taste better, the yolks are almost orange as opposed to a pale yellow.  Don’t worry about the color of the egg shell, they vary depending on the chicken type.  Some are brown, some white, some are even green, but the insides are all the same (whites and yolks).

Do you want a soft boiled egg or a hard boiled egg? 

Hard Boiled Eggs

These are the easiest.

1. If you have time, set your eggs out for 15 minutes or so to bring to room temperature, if you don’t have time it isn’t a big deal.
2. Put an egg or eggs (might as well make more than one, they keep) in a pot and fill with water to just cover eggs.
3. Turn your stove burner to high and bring the water to a rolling boil. 
4. When the boil is reached immediately turn your electric stove top off, but leave the pot with the eggs on the burner for 10 minutes (if you have a gas stove or an electric stove that eliminates its burner heat immediately, turn to low and simmer for 12 minutes).
5. Then remove the pot from the burner and run under cold water. 
6. When the water is cool, tap each egg on the side of the pot to create a small crack (or three) in each egg.  This will make peeling easier. 
7. When the eggs are cool to the touch you can tap gently or roll with a little pressure on a flat surface to create more cracks, then peel while running under cold water.

Tip:  Peeling hard boiled eggs can be difficult if the eggs are fresh.  You want to have eggs that are at least a week old (from when they were laid) for easy peeling, or use the ones in your fridge that are going to expire first.  The shell tends to stick to the edible part of fresh eggs.

Soft and Medium Boiled Eggs

These are a little trickier.

1. Repeat steps 1-3 above.
2. When the boil is reached immediately turn your electric stove top off, but leave the pot with the eggs on the burner (if you have a gas stove or an electric stove that eliminates its burner heat immediately, turn to low and simme)
3. Now for the tricky part, how runny do you want the yoke in your soft boiled egg?
4. For a runny yolk you will want to leave your eggs on the burner for 4-6 minutes depending on the size of the eggs (larger eggs will take longer).
5. For a yolk that is soft (not hard, but not runny), leave your eggs on the burner for 6-8 mintues depending on the size of the eggs (larger eggs will take longer).
6. Now you want to stop the eggs from cooking further, so remove the pot from the burner and run under cold water until the water in the pot is cold (not reheating from the hot pot).  This will cool the eggs, so they stop cooking but are still warm inside.

Tip:  Most people eat soft and medium boiled eggs right from the shell.  Place the egg in an egg cup and tap the top of the shell to remove enough shell to get your spoon inside.   Scoop out the egg and enjoy.

While you’ll want to eat your soft and medium boiled eggs right away, hard boiled eggs will keep in your refrigerator (in their shell) for up to five days.  They are an easy snack to take to work or have on hand to make egg salad (just mash and add mayo or get creative by adding a little mustard or horseradish sauce or diced onion or pickle).