Boiled eggs in a saucepan.

Boiled eggs are eggs (typically chicken's eggs) cooked by immersion in boiling water with their shells unbroken. Eggs cooked in water without their shells are known as poached eggs. Hard-boiled eggs are either boiled long enough for the egg white and then the egg yolk to solidify, or they are left to cool down, which will gradually solidify them, while a soft-boiled egg yolk, and sometimes even the white, remains at least partially liquid. The egg timer was so-named due to its common usage in timing the boiling of eggs. Boiled eggs are a popular breakfast food in many countries around the world.

[edit] Soft-boiled eggs

Boiled eggs, increasing in boiling time from left to right.

Soft-boiled eggs are not recommended for people who may be susceptible to salmonella, such as very young children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems.^[1]

[edit] Serving

Soft boiled eggs are commonly served in egg cups, where the top of the egg is cut off with a knife, spoon or egg scissors, using a teaspoon to scoop the egg out. Other methods include breaking the eggshell by tapping gently around the top of the shell with a spoon.^[2] Soft-boiled eggs can be eaten with buttered toast cut into strips, which are then dipped into the runny yolk. In the United Kingdom, these strips of toast are known as 'soldiers'.^[3]

[edit] Hard-boiled eggs

A Scandinavian sandwich with hard-boiled eggs and cod roe caviar (Kalles kaviar) from a tube.

Closeup of the yolk in a hard-boiled egg.

Hard-boiled eggs are boiled for longer than soft-boiled eggs, long enough for the yolk to solidify.^[4] They can be eaten warm or cold. Hard-boiled eggs are the basis for many dishes, such as egg salad, Cobb salad and Scotch eggs.

There are several theories as to the proper technique of hard-boiling an egg. One method is to bring water to a boil and cook for eight minutes. Another method is to bring the water to a boil, but then remove the pan from the heat and allow eggs to cook in the gradually cooling water.^[5][4] Others prescribe cooking in continually boiling water over heat for a shorter period of time.^{[citation needed]}

Over-cooking eggs will typically result in a thin green sulfur coating on the yolk. Immersing the egg in cold water after boiling is a common method of halting the cooking process to prevent this effect.^[5] It also causes a slight shrinking of the contents of the egg, easing the removal of the shell.

Hard-boiled eggs in their shells can be stored in the refrigerator for days to weeks.^[6][7][8]

[edit] Peeling

Hard-boiled eggs can vary widely in how easy it is to peel away the shells. In general, the fresher an egg before boiling, the more difficult it is to separate the shell cleanly from the egg white. As a fresh egg ages after being processed for human consumption, it gradually loses both moisture and carbon dioxide through pores in the shell; as a consequence, the contents of the egg shrink and the pH of the albumen becomes more basic. Albumen with higher pH (more basic) is less likely to stick to the egg shell, while pockets of air develop in eggs that have lost significant amounts of moisture, also making eggs easier to peel.^[9] Adding baking soda to the boiling water can help make it easier to peel the eggs.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] See also

Food portal

• List of egg dishes

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of Cookbook:Hard Boiled Eggs

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of Cookbook:Soft Boiled Eggs

• Boiling an Egg - Science Background
• Boiling of eggs for molecular gastronomers
• wiki articles on how to boil an egg, poach an egg, and soft boil an egg. An overview of all processes for boiling eggs.