Skip to main content
Main

To Boil Eggs

A simple method for boiling eggs to desired doneness.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
Jump to recipe ↓

To Boil Eggs

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Fill a pan with cold water and add the eggs.

  2. Ensure the water is boiling before adding the eggs.

  3. Boil for 3 minutes for soft eggs.

  4. Boil for 4 minutes for fully cooked whites.

  5. Boil for 6 minutes for hard-boiled eggs suitable for garnishing.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Proteins in the white and yolk set with heat, so boiling time controls how firm each part becomes.

The step that matters

Boil for the timed duration. Egg proteins set progressively as heat penetrates. Stopping earlier leaves runny yolks or soft whites, while running longer makes yolks chalky and firm.

“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.

More boiled eggs recipes

You might also like