How To Cook Hard Boiled Eggs

Hard-boiled eggs are simple to cook, filled with nutrition, high in protein and easily stored. Before you hard boil your first egg, learn some tips and tricks to ensure that your attempt is successful.

Advantages of Hard Boiled Eggs

Eggs are a nutritious and a great source of protein. With protein making up a full 35 percent of an egg’s calories, they are very filling, despite their size.

Hard-boiled eggs are quick to prepare, easy to make and practical. You can cook them ahead of time, and store them away in the refrigerator for the next day or the next week. They are also very portable, as they pack easily, do not take much space, can be eaten without making a mess and are equipped with their own containers.

Hard boiled eggs are good on their own, added to a tossed salad or stuffed like classic deviled eggs. They are a tasty ingredient in many types of salads, like this Egg and Ham Salad.

Two Ways to Boil Eggs

Learn how to cook hard boiled eggs using one of the two easy methods.

Place your eggs eggs a pan, and fill it with cold water up to about one inch above the eggs. Add a pinch of salt to the water. Turn the temperature to high and let the eggs cook for 15 minutes. The water will come to a rolling boil during the cooking period. Turn the temperature down, if desired, to a softer boil to prevent the eggs from banging into each other and cracking. When the cooking time is completed, run the eggs under cold water to allow them to cool slightly before peeling the egg shell.

Similarly to the first method, take a pan and fill it with enough water to cover the eggs. Add a pinch of salt to the water. Turn the temperature to high, and allow the water to come to a boil. Gently lower the eggs into the pan using a table spoon. Allow the water to return to a boil, and set the timer for 8 minutes. Run the cooked eggs under cold, running water to allow them to cool slightly.

Tips For Hard Boiling Eggs

Adding a little salt or vinegar to the water helps the egg white to coagulate instead of seeping into the water if the shell cracks during the cooking process.

To help peel the eggs slightly crack the shell just after you are done cooking and then let them cool.

Older eggs are better for hard boiling, as they are easier to peel after cooking. Use eggs that are roughly three to five days older than their package date.

Once eggs are hard-boiled, they can be stored in the refrigerator for roughly one week, either stored in the shell or peeled and set in a bowl of cold water.

Never place cold eggs straight from the refrigerator into hot or boiling water. Take them out of the refrigerator roughly 30 minutes ahead of time to let them come to room temperature, or run them under hot tap water for 30 seconds. This way they are less likely to crack during the cooking process.

Use a pot that is large enough so that the eggs are not on top of each other, but one small enough so that they will not roll around too much while cooking which can cause the eggs to crack.

References

Hard Boiled Egg Nutritional Details, Fat Secrets - https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/usda/hard-boiled-egg

How to boil an egg including tips for hard and soft boiled eggs, helpwithcooking.com - https://www.helpwithcooking.com/egg-guide/how-to-boil-egg.html