Eggs for Today

Some years ago, my sister-in-law convinced me the best way to make hard-boiled eggs was to put them in a pan of cold water, bring the water to a boil, and then turn it off. Let the eggs sit for 15 minutes (or some number of minutes around that). Then cool them with cold running water.

Well, it turns out that's completely wrong, if you want eggs that are easy to peel. I'd always thought ease of peeling had to do with how fresh or not fresh the egg is, but science says not.

The most efficient way to cook hard-boiled eggs with the best results is this:

Boil 1 inch of water on high heat. Put cold eggs in a steamer basket in a single layer and lower them into the boiling pot. Cover and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 13 minutes.

While the eggs are steaming, put 2 cups of cold water in a bowl with 2 cups of ice cubes. Transfer the finished, hot eggs into the bowl with tongs or a large spoon. Let them sit 15 minutes before peeling or refrigerating to peel later.

The steam means the white and the yolk both get the temperature they need to get to the point of doneness, but not overdoneness.


(Obviously, for soft-cooked eggs, you'd want to cook them somewhere between 5 and 7 minutes.)

The cold-meets-hot beginning of the process gives you a shell that's easy to peel 90 percent of the time. And the yolks don't get that green edge, either.

Hallelujuah.