Perfect eggs...

So you want to know how to boil the perfect hard boiled egg?  Well here is how...

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

1 dozen large eggs or 6 or 4 or whatever amount you need. Make sure they are 7 to 10 days old.  Fresh eggs will stick.
Water to cover
Pinch salt

Place the eggs in a saucepan and cover with water. Season with a pinch of salt. Place the pan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cover with a lid. Allow the eggs to sit for 15 minutes. Drain and cool the eggs for 2 minutes in ice water. Drain and peel the eggs.

*If you are going to chuck the eggs into boiling water then another alternative is to get a needle and poke a tiny hole in the top. I find this fussy and never do it, but some people do. It allows the air to escape and avoids cracking. 

*Another tip is to bring the eggs to room temp before boiling or soaking them in warm water for a few minutes if you are in a rush.  Plunging a cold egg into boiling water will crack them.

*Also make sure you don't boil them at a rolling boil as they are likely to just crack from bouncing around.

*Finally if you get really stuck on the peeling and the eggs won't cooperate you can run them under hot water for a bit and then plunge them back into the cold water in an attempt to keep the white from sticking.

Soft boiled egg method:

This time you place the eggs in the saucepan, cover them with cold water by about 1/2 inch (1 cm), place them on a high heat and, as soon as they reach boiling point, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and give the following timings:
3 minutes if you like a really soft boiled egg
4 minutes for a white that is just set and a yolk that is creamy
5 minutes for a white and yolk perfectly set, only a little bit squidgy in the center.


*Remember that egg size will also have an impact on the yolk so if you soft boil them you might have to adjust the cooking times for this.

Good luck!

Also.. ever wonder how to tell how fresh your egg is?

How to tell how old a raw egg is while it is safely tucked away in its shell could seem a bit tricky, but not so.  There is a simple test that tells you exactly how much air there is. All you do is place the egg in a tumbler of cold water: if it sinks to a completely horizontal position, it is very fresh; if it tilts up slightly or to a semi-horizontal position, it could be up to a week old; if it floats into a vertical position, then it is stale. The only reason this test would not work is if the egg had a hairline crack, which would allow more air in. That said, 99 per cent of the time the cook could do this simple test and know precisely how the egg will behave. In my opinion, all eggs should be used within two weeks if at all possible. An extra week is okay, but three weeks is the maximum keeping time.

I tend not to use an egg if it floats.....

looks like i'm doing something right!¬ 

and hubby taught me the floating egg trick!

Geez how do you guys know so much about eggs? So whats the salt for? Does that salt taste actually penetrate the shell?
Wont the potatoes keep the eggs from floating to the top? JK!

Nigella's Gramma always said to put a match in the boiling water to keep any whites from floating all over IF the egg cracks.  I've tried this and I don't know why -- but it works