To Boil Eggs
Ingredients
Directions
Fill a pan with cold water and add the eggs.
Ensure the water is boiling before adding the eggs.
Boil for 3 minutes for soft eggs.
Boil for 4 minutes for fully cooked whites.
Boil for 6 minutes for hard-boiled eggs suitable for garnishing.
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
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipes