How to boil an egg? Carefully!

The first thing to note about boiling an egg is that is personal choice. Present me with a soft boiled egg where the yolk resembles gravy and I will probably throw it straight back at you. Although, if we are talking food-etiquette here (much like ordering the correct temperature of a steak as medium-rare), having your yolk slightly runny is the correct way to have your eggs, if there is such a thing. And here is how you do it.

Firstly, never boil eggs that have come straight from the fridge, if you plunge them into hot water they will crack.

Remember to look at your kitchen timer, unless you have an innate clock, which I doubt you do. Not watching the timer will no doubt ruin your eggs.

Every egg has a little air pocket at the top (you would have seen this when peeling your eggs). Steam builds up in this air pocket, causing pressure and your egg, again, may crack. You can buy a little contraption from any good home-store which pricks the shell thus allowing this steam to escape.

Always use a small saucepan, eggs with too much space to jolt about it will end up cracking and a gentle simmering of your water is sufficient.

Just cover your eggs with water, do not fill the pot. If the eggs are very fresh (less than four days old), allow an extra 30 seconds on each timing.

Now, here is your time-guideline. Place the eggs in the saucepan, cover them with cold water by about 1/2 inch (1cm), place them on a high heat and, as soon as they reach boiling point, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and give the following timings:
3 minutes if you like a really soft-boiled egg
4 minutes for a white that is just set and a yolk that is creamy.
5 minutes for a white and yolk perfectly set, with only a little bit of squidgy in the centre.

AND NEVER OVER BOIL YOUR EGGS OR YOUR YOLK WILL TURN BLACK

Peeling hard-boiled eggs

The best way to do this is to first tap the eggs gently all over to crack the shells, then hold each egg under a slow trickle of running water as you peel the shell off, starting at the wide end. The water will flush off any bits of shell that cling on. Then back they go into cold water until completely cold. If you don't cool the eggs rapidly they will go on cooking and become overcooked, then you get the black-ring problem. YUK!

This post pays tribute to Delia Smith.