If you boil an egg for five or 10 minutes, it becomes firm and cooked. If you boil it for hours, it becomes rubbery and overcooked.
And if you find your eggs are showing signs of being over-boiled, while Prepared Cooks notes that eating overcooked eggs isn't bad for you, they won't taste very good.
For one to four eggs, bring the water to a rolling boil, cover the pot, and turn the heat down to its lowest setting for 12-14 minutes. For five to eight eggs, cook for 15 to 18 minutes. For nine to one dozen eggs, cook for 20 minutes.
Hard-cooked eggs, which have been quickly cooled and placed in the refrigerator in their shells should be consumed within seven days. Peeled hard-cooked eggs stored in the refrigerator should be consumed within 48 hours due to the moist egg white surface being exposed and the potential of microorganism growth.
Shelly McKee, a food scientist at Deb-El Foods and an expert on egg chemistry, said that boiling an egg for a long time would cause it to expel moisture. As the proteins in the egg white clump together ever more tightly, they would squeeze out the water contained within the egg.
Turn the heat to high and bring the water to a rolling boil. Turn off the heat, cover, and let sit: Depending on how cooked you like your hard boiled eggs, the eggs should be done perfectly after sitting for 10-12 minutes.
Bring the water to a boil over medium heat. Then, set the timer and boil the eggs for 10 minutes. Depending on how soft you like your yolks how long to boil eggs can vary from 5 minutes to 12 minutes. The less time in the hot water, the less cooked the eggs will be.
Fill pot with water to completely cover the eggs at least 1 inch above eggs and turn heat to high. Bring water to a boil, takes approximately 15 minutes. As soon as eggs start to boil, let boil for 10-12 minutes (I do 11 minutes). Set timer to help.
Once the water is at a rolling boil, turn off the heat and cover the pot with the lid. Allow the eggs to sit in the hot water for the following times according to the desired doneness: 3 minutes for SOFT boiled; 6 minutes for MEDIUM boiled; 12 minutes for HARD boiled.
After the eggs have been effectively hard-boiled, continuing to boil them for a longer time just maintains the eggs at 100 degrees celsius for a longer time. So effectively, boiling eggs for 15 mins or 2 hours make no real difference to the eggs.
Those funky, discolored rings in your hard-boiled eggs may make you wonder if they are harmful to eat. Fortunately, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) website clearly states the green or gray color in the eggs is “safe to consume.” So, if you happen to see a little ring around your egg, don't worry!
How Can You Tell If Hard-Boiled Eggs Are Bad? The best way to test if your eggs are still good after you've boiled them is, again, the smell test. Basically, you'll notice the smell is off if an egg is starting to go bad. This is true for raw eggs and it's true for boiled eggs—the funk doesn't lie.
To avoid getting a green yolk, cook your eggs just long enough to reach the desired doneness—no more. And quickly plunge the cooked eggs into cold water to stop the cooking process and minimize the iron-sulfur reaction. Some people also say that the cold-water plunge makes eggs easier to peel.
Cooking time for a soft-boiled egg is 3 to 4 minutes, and indeed many aficionados specify their desired doneness by referring to a "3-minute egg" or "4-minute egg." With the former, there may be a slight amount of unset white around the yolk, but with the latter, the white is fully set.
A nine minute cook time is best for large eggs. To avoid overcooking make sure that your water never passes the 180-degree mark and be sure to use a timer. After your timer goes off, give your eggs a cool bath under cool water for a few minutes.
Lower your eggs straight from the fridge into already-boiling water, or place them in a steamer insert in a covered pot, steaming at full blast on the stovetop. If boiling, lower the heat to the barest simmer. Cook the eggs for 11 minutes for hard or six minutes for soft. Serve.
The best way to salvage an under-boiled egg is to get it back into hot water. You can either reboil them directly on the stove, or put them in a bowl that can handle boiling water and pour hot water over the eggs. Note: Do not cook boiled or partially boiled eggs in the microwave; this will cause them to explode.
If you're wondering how to tell an egg is hard boiled, set it on the counter and give a quick spin. Once it's moving, tap your finger on it to stop the spinning. Eggs that are cooked will spin easily and rapidly and stop quickly.
It calls for cooking your eggs at 85 degrees Celsius (185 Fahrenheit) for precisely six minutes. The result is an egg that is cooked through but still creamy and moist on the inside, with a deliciously thick white around the yolk that melts away as you break into it.
6 1/2 minutes: A soft, jammy yolk. This is my favorite for eggs on toast or soft boiled eggs on a salad. 8 minutes: A medium yolk that's slightly soft but firm enough to hold its own. 10 minutes: The early stages of a hard boiled egg, with just a smidge of softness in the middle.
After it empties, turn the small glass, start boiling your eggs and continue watching the big glass. When, at the end of 11 minutes, the big one empties the small glass will be running for 4 minutes. Turn the big glass and wait another 11 minutes. 4 + 11 = 15.