the science of cooking a soft-boiled egg. americas test kitchen method.

[nynor]

Originally Posted by enzo1

try putting small amount of olive oil in water...

huh... what does that do?

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by vash

put 0.5" of water into a pot, get it boiling at a rip..add eggs..however many you want, start the time..6.5 minutes, cover the pot. timer goes off, give the eggs a quick rinse and they are perfectly done every single time. ...

is this with the eggs still in the shell?

[vash]

Originally Posted by RWebb

is this with the eggs still in the shell?

yes..in the shell.

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by nynor

i can see how going to 15 minutes would get them cooked, but not turned into an inedible facsimile of school lunch HB eggs. i like mine soft, so i usually go eight minutes and i don't worry about how runny the yolk is. but, that is my preference.

Just did five eggs earlier today. Got them to a rolling boil, put on the lid, then move the pot off of the hot burner for 15 min. Iced them down when the timer went off. Definitely cooked all the way through, but not overdone in the least.

I agree that it there are so many variables in this method that one size does not fit all. I do hate the Super-Balls disguised at hard boiled eggs at hotel breakfast bars. Just can't begin to eat those things.

[enzo1]

Originally Posted by nynor

huh... what does that do?

sorry, thought this was poaching out of the shell in water

[enzo1]

like this but with the olive oil in water...

[vash]

yum. a poached egg over a slice of cheese pizza covered with arugula..damn.

i put a dash of vinegar in my poaching water to help the egg white stay together.

[Don Ro]

Originally Posted by vash

i love soft boiled eggs over salad. this is gonna work.!

Yum!

Try hot, soft boiled eggs in a bowl, melt in some real butter, salt/pepper and eat with toast.
Yum, squared!

Thanks for the subject/info.

[M.D. Holloway]

Vash, thanks for the insight. That is cool! My Mom taught me the same about 40 years ago, but it was 6 min in a pan of water that hit the eggs about ¼ up...as well as cooking bread and what not starting out in a cold oven, rubbing herbs in your hands before adding to a dish, all food and ingredients to be at room temp prior to mixing or cooking, to tear greens - don't cut them with a knife, fish isn't supposed to smell fishy, always use evaporated milk to cook instead of whole cold milk for cooking, use very cold water when making any type of pie crust or pastry, always add a tps spoon of instant coffee to any chocolate recipe, everything tastes better with onions, garlic, salt and pepper and that’s about all the seasoning you will need if running on a budget. There are prolly a hundred other tips and tricks that made her a great cook and us well fed. I wish I could remember them all (wish I paid more attention back then)

[M.D. Holloway]

Originally Posted by enzo1

sorry, thought this was poaching out of the shell in water

Use a 1/4 inch of olive oil in a fry pan, get hot and crack in a few eggs...cook to taste, they come out amazing

[Don Ro]

Originally Posted by LubeMaster77

Vash, thanks for the insight. That is cool! My Mom taught me the same about 40 years ago, but it was 6 min in a pan of water that hit the eggs about ¼ up...as well as cooking bread and what not starting out in a cold oven, rubbing herbs in your hands before adding to a dish, all food and ingredients to be at room temp prior to mixing or cooking, to tear greens - don't cut them with a knife, fish isn't supposed to smell fishy, always use evaporated milk to cook instead of whole cold milk for cooking, use very cold water when making any type of pie crust or pastry, always add a tps spoon of instant coffee to any chocolate recipe, everything tastes better with onions, garlic, salt and pepper and that’s about all the seasoning you will need if running on a budget. There are prolly a hundred other tips and tricks that made her a great cook and us well fed. I wish I could remember them all (wish I paid more attention back then)

Let's eat! Is it ready, yet?

[stealthn]

Altitude plays on time as well. From fridge to boiling water, 11 minutes and mine are soft boiled.

[peppy]

Vash thanks. Tried it this am and got a belly full.

[Danimal16]

Best soft boiled egg.

Pressure cooker 3 mins, at low pressure and quick release. Like clockwork.

[scottmandue]

Don't know where I got this:

Bring full pot of salted water to boil... gently put in eggs (cold out ot fridge)...

Bring water back to boil, cover, turn off heat... remove eggs when water is cool.

But then I'm not HB egg guy... preferred mine poached.

YMMV

[dhoward]

Finally tried this today. Perfect.

[vash]

The method has no flaws! This morning.

[mikesride]

VASH!!!
Cooked up perfect this saturday breakfast!!! A dash of salt and pepper, a little butter and kinda chop em up in the bowl!!!!! So yummy! Thanks for posting....its been way too long since I've had a soft boiled egg!! (like 26 years or so!!!)

[Bill Douglas]

Something to add here. I always tap the shell with the tip of a small sharp knife. It puts a small pin prick sized hole in the shell so when the egg boils it doesn't decide to erupt, but rather the pressure comes out through the small hole and the egg stays intact.

I put two inches of water in a pot/saucepan and put my three fridge cold eggs in. Bring it to the boil and wait three minutes - to the second! and no cold water rinse.

[Mark Henry]

What is the fuss about?

I've had one of these for ages, no-brainer perfect eggs every time,