How long soft boiled egg

Per-capita, egg consumption in the United States is around eggs per year, with about 1 in 20, eggs infected with salmonella.

Thus, the average person can be expected to encounter a contaminated egg once every 69 years. With that said, avoid uncooked and partially cooked eggs to be extremely safe.

This goes particularly for children under 5, the elderly, pregnant women, and anyone with a compromised immune system. To be percent safe, use pasteurized eggs for your soft-boiled eggs or any other egg preparations that produce a liquid yolk, like poached, over-easy, or sunny-side up eggs.

The microwave is a wonderful tool. You can even cook a decent poached egg in one. But the microwave is not a good tool for cooking soft-boiled eggs because microwaving whole eggs can make them explode. And they don't just explode in the microwave, as if that weren't bad enough. No, whole eggs cooked in the microwave explode when you try to crack them, which means they'll explode right in your face!

What happens is this: The microwave creates a pocket of superheated liquid in the center of the egg which remains stable while the shell is intact. Once the shell is breached, however, the pressure is explosively released, shooting globules of superheated egg and fragments of sharp shell into your face at ballistic speeds. This will definitely burn you, and if you're particularly unfortunate, could even permanently blind you.

It's a needless danger considering the microwave technique is no easier or faster than doing it on the stovetop, owing to the fact that you have to boil water anyway, and you have to wait at least 5 minutes to let the microwaved egg cool before cracking it or else it might explode. With soft-boiled eggs, it's not so much a matter of peeling them, as it is with a hard-boiled egg.

That's because, with a soft-boiled egg, its yolk isn't merely soft, it's still liquid; and the white itself, while nonliquid, is still very soft.

Thus, attempting to peel a soft-boiled egg will yield only a handful of shapeless, runny egg. Instead, soft-boiled eggs are served by slicing off the top of the shell and then scooping out the scrumptious, silky-smooth egg within with a spoon, or simply dipping your toast triangles into it. It's helpful to use an egg cup, which holds the egg upright while you do the slicing and eating.

Anyone who loves soft-boiled eggs probably already owns their own egg cup, but if you want to try a soft-boiled egg and you don't have an egg cup, you can always use a shot glass in a pinch. I overall like this method. But there is one thing that is not going as planned in the directions.

I bring the water to a boil, lower to simmer, quickly add the eggs, then turn the heat back up. The directions say to bring back up to a boil and cook specified time depending how you want the eggs to look. My problem is, the water never returns to a boil until the 10 to 12 minute mark.

I leave the eggs out a little bit before cooking but not to room temp. I have a gas stove And turn it up to high on the appropriate size burner for the pot. And I usually cook a dozen eggs. I wound up adding a few minutes of cook time to what the recipe says to compensate. But was wondering if my problem with promptly returning back to a boil was unique to me?

Thank you! Perfect eggs! Eggs crack, even after following the directions about turning down the heat prior to addition and using a spider to gently add them and letting them pre-warm shortly on the counter.

Hi Jared — sorry to hear that! Sometimes it seems the brand of eggs can make a difference as well in terms of how sturdy the shells are. No need to bring the water to a simmer first and you can, gently, toss your eggs in straight from the fridge.

I love all the explanations to why the eggs cook differently. It is explained and the directions so easy to follow. Your times are based on eggs coming out of the fridge. I keep my eggs in the cupboard as they are not sanitized before being put on the shelves in the supermarket. In other words they still have their protective coating. So, my question is: how would you adjust the timing for room temperature eggs. Hi Sumer — I usually just microwave them for 20 seconds or so peeled.

Or you can put them in a cup of boiling water for about a minute. I make hard-boiled eggs on a regular basis. Always add the eggs to cold water with vinegar then boil. I have seen instructions for an ice water bath in other recipes but I never have ice!! I suppose just cold water after boiling will not work as well as the ice water bath?

I will have to make some ice to give this a try. Thanks for the recipe! At least 3 of my eggs immediately cracked once placed gently in the water. Was the pressure of the heat too much for it to handle? Only relevant information, nicely pedagogical, and super helpful without fluff. Is it easier to remove the shell immediately after boiling or can I wait until they are completely cool? Enjoy the deviled eggs! How does the size of the egg affect the cooking time?

Medium versus large versus extra-large, etc.? A great tip I learned from my grandmother, that prevents ALL eggs from cracking — take a needle and make a small shallow hole in the shall on its more round end the less pointed one. Every egg has a pocket of air inside. While heating, the expanding air escapes through the little hole instead of building pressure that cracks the eggs.

Thank you so very much for this video! A tip for easy to peel eggs, tap the rounded end as opposed to the sharp end with a spoon hard enough to produce a hairline crack usually looks like a fine web then cook as normal.

From what I can gather, the starting crack is enough to allow the egg to expand and contract with the heat and cold making the peeling easier.

I am so grateful for your different cooking times per egg softness. Perfect every time. But this recipe is pretty much failsafe and so easy. I used to just watch the video because the egg opening part at the end is so satisfying to watch. Glad this method works for you Belle! I often just settle for hard boiled eggs when what I usually want is the soft yolk…. Straight forward easy to cook for soft to hard york in one pot! Hello and welcome to Downshiftology!

Please read my disclosure policy. Jump to Recipe. Prep Time: 5 mins. Cook Time: 14 mins. Total Time: 21 mins. Servings: 6 eggs. Author: Lisa Bryan. Print Pin Review. My foolproof method for cooking both hard boiled eggs and soft boiled eggs perfectly is placing them gently in a pot of boiling water. Watch the video above to see my easy, step-by-step process.

Ingredients 1x 2x 3x. US Customary Metric. Instructions Bring a medium-sized pot of water to a boil. Ensure there's enough water in the pot to cover the eggs by about an inch.

While you're waiting for the water to boil, remove the eggs from the fridge set them on the counter and prepare ice water bath in a large bowl.

Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat to low and use skimmer to gently and slowly add the eggs to the water. Set a timer and cook the eggs for minutes for soft boiled eggs and minutes for hard boiled eggs.

See the cook time notes above. Once the eggs have cooked to your preferred time, use the skimmer to remove the eggs and immediately submerge them in the ice water bath to stop them from cooking. Lisa's Tips I love this skimmer as it can easily add and remove multiple eggs at the same time. Calories: Course: Breakfast. Cuisine: American. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated.

Slowly lower the eggs into the water using a spoon. If serving in a salad, plunge the eggs into a bowl of cold water as soon as the timer goes off — this will stop them cooking and cool the shells quickly for peeling. How long an egg takes to boil depends entirely on how runny you'd like the yolk and white to be. Eggs with this kind of centre are also prized for the centres of scotch eggs. There is no absolute foolproof way to perfectly boil an egg as, each time, the size and temperature of the egg may vary.

You can also start by cooking in cold water or add the eggs to boiling water. Because eggs cook from the outside in, the whites are liable to overcooking. However, with a bit of trial and error, you can find the method that suits you. To boil an egg accurately, make sure it is not fridge-cold and use a timing suitable for the size. The timings below are for large eggs — cook for 30 seconds less for a medium egg and 30 seconds more for an extra-large egg.

You can also use an egg pricker or pin to make a very small hole in each egg before boiling, which will reduce the chance of it cracking in the heat. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and lower in the eggs in a single layer. Reduce the heat to a simmer and use the following timings for large eggs:. When done, scoop the eggs out of the pan using a slotted spoon and put them into a bowl of very cold water to prevent them cooking any further.

Put the eggs in a single layer in a pan and cover them with room-temperature water so it comes about 1cm above the eggs. Cover and bring it to the boil. When the water is boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and start timing.

For fully hard-boiled eggs, you can also turn the heat off as soon as the water boils and leave the eggs in the water for 12 mins. For induction hobs, the eggs can take about 1 minute more, so 5 minutes for runny and 7 minutes for soft-boiled. Subscriber club Reader offers More Good Food. Back to Recipes Pumpkin recipes Butternut squash See more.