Show notes

Simple methods for cooking eggs

Boling an egg
Use an egg at room temperature if possible. Piercing the blunt end with a needle (be careful) or special tool can help prevent cracking and the white escaping into the water. Use a small pan and put in enough water to cover the eggs by about ½ inch or 1 cm. Bring the water to the boil and carefully lower the eggs into the water, allow the water to come back up to the boil and then begin timing; 3 minutes for really soft, 4 for just set white and soft runny yolk, 5 for a well set white and yolk just beginning to set. Remove the egg or eggs with a spoon (preferably one with holes in to allow the water to drip back into the pan). Run cold water briefly over the eggs to stop them cooking and then serve immediately.

Avoiding a black green yolk
This green/black is caused by the ferrous sulphide formation. Egg whites contain sulphur and egg yolks contain iron, when the egg is heated the sulphur is released from the white and reacts with the iron to give ferrous sulphide. This sulphur release increases the longer the egg is cooked so the key element in avoiding black eggs is to keep cooking time to a minimum. Also the age of the egg plays a role in this defect, older eggs being more prone than younger ones. This coloration is harmless and the egg is still fine to be consumed. (The slightly unpleasant smell that is sometimes associated with hard boiled eggs is caused by hydrogen sulphide another compound that forms when the sulphur is released from the egg white.)

Hard boiling an egg
Place them in a suitably sized pan - they shouldn't have too much space to rattle around and cover them with cold water, as before about ½ inch or 1cm over them. Place on the heat and bring up to boil, starting timing 8 minutes should give you a good hard boiled egg when using a standard large eggs - larger or smaller eggs will need a slight adjustment of time. The next bit is the most important - remove the eggs from the pan and hold under running cold water for a minute. Then allow to stand in cold water for another 2-3 minutes or until cold enough to handle. If using the hard boiled eggs immediately crack the shells slightly before leaving them to stand in the cold water for 2-3 minutes. This makes them a bit easier to take off when the time comes.

Easy peel hard boiled eggs - age matters
Hard boiled eggs are best prepared with eggs that are about 5-7 days old. By this time the aging process has begun and if the inner membrane of the two shell membranes has started to shrink away from the outer membrane which is attached to the shell. The two will then separate more easily when cooked. If the egg is older than a week there is more of a risk of a black ring forming around the yolk so 5-7 days after laying is probably the optimum.

Peeling the egg
Gently tap the shell on a hard surface to crack it all over. Then remove the shell, this is easier if you do it under running cold water but that is not essential.

Poaching an egg
This is possibly one of the hardest methods to do well. There are many different bits of advice out there like swirling the water, adding vinegar to the cooking water etc and cooks need to practice to define what works best for them. However you decide to poach them it is best to use fresh eggs as the white is firmer and will stay together better.

I like to use a fairly deep frying/sauté pan with a lid and fill it with water to a depth of about 1 inch /2.5 cm. Heat the water until you can see tiny bubbles forming on the bottom of the pan and the water is just beginning to simmer. Break the eggs into cup not directly into the water for more control over the egg and slip them into the water one at a time. When the last egg is in set the timer for 1 minute and cook gently, barely simmering. Now remove the pan completely from the heat and cover with the lid. Set the timer for a further 8 minutes and allow the eggs to stand in the hot water. After 8 minutes, carefully lift the eggs from the water with a draining spoon, dab the bottom of the spoon on some absorbent kitchen paper to soak up any extra drips and serve immediately. Cooking time will vary slightly with the size and number of eggs and the size of pan and you should experiment to find the best for you.

Pan size is important for the correct thickness - 6 inches/15cm base for a 2-3 egg omelette and I like to use a non-stick pan so I can easily slide the cooked omelette from the pan. Break the eggs in a cup and mix with a fork to break the yolk, add some seasoning - salt and black pepper and a little splash of water, about 1 tsp, you can add herbs to the eggs if you like. Place the pan on the heat and when it is hot add the fat, ½ tsp oil and ½ tsp butter, swirl it around the pan to coat the bottom and the sides. When the butter is sizzling add the eggs, allow to set a little and then draw the edges into the centre with a spatula and tip the pan with the other hand to allow the liquid egg to fill the spaces left behind when the cooked egg was moved into the centre. Continue drawing the edges into the middle and tipping to fill the spaces until all the liquid egg is used up. The surface should be still quite wet. Fold the omelette by flipping one edge into the centre and then the other side, then tip onto a plate. The omelette can also be filled at this point with grated cheese, cooked bacon, cooked potatoes, vegetables etc. Place the filling in the centre portion of the omelette and proceed as before, then slide the filled omelette on to the plate.