Eggs in the Shell, or Curdled Eggs
Ingredients
Directions
Put 1 to 4 eggs into boiling water, using 1 pint of water per egg. Cover if the dish is broad and shallow; if deep, leave uncovered.
Let the eggs stand off from the fire for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the age of the eggs. Fresh laid eggs cook in a shorter time than older eggs.
If a larger number of eggs is required, use a smaller proportion of water and let them stand on the back of the range where the water will be below the boiling point for 5 minutes.
To obtain the most accurate result, keep the water at a temperature of 168 to 170 degrees for 10 minutes, never allowing it to go above 170 or below 168.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Cook in the hot water, where heat sets the white and the yolk to a soft, runny texture.
The step that matters
Keep the water temperature steady. Egg white begins to set around 145 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit and the yolk thickens with more heat. Holding the water in a narrow range, as the record directs, keeps the yolk soft while the white firms. Water that boils hard overcooks the eggs and makes the yolk chalky.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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