Eggs can be cooked in a plethora of ways – scrambled, poached, fried and, of course, boiled. As a child, ‘boiled eggs and soldiers’ was a classic supper dish that consisted of runny boiled eggs and thin strips of toast slathered in butter.
Nowadays, I prefer my boiled eggs either in a salad paired with poached salmon or chopped up in a homemade egg mayonnaise sandwich.
My favourite type of boiled egg is the soft-boiled egg which is cooked so that the yolk and some of the egg white is partially liquid.
Hard-boiled eggs are cooked until the egg white and egg yolk is completely solid.
There are a few different ways to make boiled eggs but for the best soft-boiled eggs, you will want to use the boiling water method.
There are a plethora of timings for boiled eggs but I personally boil mine for eight minutes and 30 seconds for a soft, jammy centre that still has a solid structure.
How to make the perfect boiled eggs
You will need
Saucepan
Bowl
Ingredients
Two eggs (the better quality the eggs, the better)
Water
Method
1. Boil the water on the hob first until it reaches a rolling boil. Once the water is boiled, reduce the heat slightly so the water is simmering. This will stop the eggs from cracking in the saucepan.
2. Turn the heat back up to a boil and set a timer for 8.5 minutes. For gooier eggs, set it for six to eight minutes, for hard-boiled eggs, set it for around the 10-minute mark.
3. Once cooked, place the eggs in a cold water bath. Many recipes suggest putting them in an ice-water bath. However, I find I rarely have ice in the house so I pop them in a bowl of cold water for five to 10 minutes and then replace the water before leaving them for a further 10 to 15 minutes. I find the eggs are still warm when you don’t use ice which is more pleasant.
4. Peel the eggs once cool. One of my favourite methods for peeling boiled eggs is to fill a plastic container halfway with cold water, pop the egg inside, secure the lid and then shake the container. This works best for eggs that have been cooked for eight minutes or more. For softer eggs, peel them as normal.
I like to serve my soft-boiled eggs on toast with butter, salt and pepper and a sprinkling of good quality parmesan.
