How
to boil the perfect egg
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| I
always thought that it was dead-simple to
boil an egg. Just take as many eggs as you
need, put them in a saucepan of cold water,
bring to the boil and boil on low heat for
10-15 minutes. As simple as that. But was
I ever wrong. I could never understand why
the eggs would crack, or why it whenever I
removed the shell, I removed most of the egg
as well. Well, really, it's not that I didn't
understand, I never gave it much thought.
Not the perfect boiled egg, I grant you, but
that's life. I found I could live with it.
Then
one day, the subject came up while talking
with a friend of mine who is a chef. Not
your everyday subject, I agree, and I usually
stick with the football results anyway,
but then again, he's a chef. Long story
short, it turned out I knew nothing about
boiling eggs, and was in dire need of a
refresher course entitled "how to boil
the perfect egg".
Here's
what I learned - the five steps neccessary
to boil the perfect egg:
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Center
the yolks. This is a great idea if you
want to used the boiled eggs as wedges in
a salad or for other decorative purposes,
or if you're planning to make deviled eggs
(See my best deviled eggs recipe here).
The easiest way to do this is by simply
rotating the eggs so they lie on their side
in the carton they came in for about 8 hours
or overnight.
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Remove
the eggs from the fridge about half an hour
before you intend to prepare them, and allow
them to gradually reach room temperature.
This will reduce the amount of cracking
of the shells due to extreme temperature
changes.
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Place
the eggs in a saucepan or pot that will
hold them comfortably, well spaced with
plenty of room between each egg. I usually
boil a few more eggs than I intend to use
with my recipe - sometimes severe cracks
that occur during boiling will make an egg
unusable, or one will peel badly, and sometimes
(frequently) I'll feel a little peckish,
and have one of the eggs as a quick snack.
Fill
the pot with cold water, covering the eggs
completely. Cover the pot and place on your
heat source. When the water starts boiling,
remove the pot. If you keep it boiling for
a length of time, the eggs will churn around
and likely collide, cracking the shell.
The churning also turns the egg white really
hard. Eggs solidify at a much lower temperature
than water boils, so to get a great boiled
egg you should first let the water reach
boiling point, then immediately remove the
pot from the heat source.
Sprinkle a teaspoon or so of salt over the
eggs, and leave them in the hot water for
about 30 more minutes.
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When
the time is up, place the eggs in a bowl
of ice-water. This rapid cooling prevents
the chemical reaction that causes the greenish
ring that forms around the yolk. It also
makes the eggs easier to peel. Leave the
eggs in the ice-water for about 20 minutes
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To
peel the egg, give it a few gentle taps
on your working surface or other hard surface.
When the shell is completely fractured,
return the egg to the bowl of ice-water.
Repeat the process with the rest of the
eggs and leave them in the water for about
10 minutes.
To
peel, take one of the eggs and roll it between
your palms. If the shell is stubborn, roll
the egg under cold running water. Removing
a small portion of the shell will generally
allow the rest to slide off easily.
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| Well,
now you know how to boil the perfect egg.
More of a hassle than just plunking the eggs
into a saucepan? True, but I'm sure you'll
appreciate the small extra effort when you
see the results. And anyway, you have plenty
else to do while the eggs are cooling, don't
you? |
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Check
out these great campfire breakfast egg recipes>>
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