We have all heard someone talk about their poor cooking skills and try to summarize them by saying “I can barely boil an egg”. The intention is clear, they are saying they are so bad at cooking they can barely achieve the simplest task in the world. After all, boiling an egg couldn’t be any easier – you simply put an egg in boiling water and wait a certain amount of time depending on how you like your egg? Well according to one eggxpert that may not be the case. Many of us who think that we can at least boil an egg, may not even be doing that right.
The traditional rules state that if you boil an egg for five minutes you get a white egg with a runny yolk, perfect for dipping. If you go for six minutes you get a liquid yolk but not so oozy. If you push it to seven minutes you get a sticky yolk – it is not hard but not liquid either. If you go for eight minutes you get a solid soft yolk. If you forget that the eggs were boiling and go for around ten minutes you get a classic hard-boiled egg, dry but not chalky. Any more than that and you are dealing with a chalky hard lump.
This has been the approach of many egg boilers for years now and it works. I myself am a six-minute egg fan. I like a liquid yolk but I still want my egg to be cooked.
However, I recently discovered that we have all been doing it wrong. M.F.K. Fisher is a writer that specializes in the kitchen. She wrote a book called ‘How to cook a wolf’ that was published in 1942. It has an entire chapter on boiling eggs and is likely one of the best resources on the topic.
In the book, she says that the term ‘boil an egg’ is where most of us go wrong. You don’t actually boil an egg at all. Boiling water is too aggressive for eggs and it will quickly cook the outer white of the egg but only slowly cook the inside. By the time your yolk is the consistency that you want the outer white is rock hard.
You may be nodding your head as you read this. The reason you never thought about it before is that we just accept a rock hard white to our egg. Well, we don’t have to. Fisher proposes two alternative methods.
The first method is to place an egg in simmering water – not boiling. First, you should run it under a cold water tap to ensure it doesn’t crack when it enters the simmering water. Now leave it there for the required time. The same rules apply to boiling. The simmer will still result in the same yoke but it won’t overcook the white.
The second approach is to put the eggs in cold water and allow the water to come to a boil quickly. By the time the water reaches the boil, your eggs are done. This egg will be similar to a 6-minute egg so try this method out and see if you like how they are done. You may want to leave them a little longer if you prefer an egg with a harder yolk but try not to leave them boiling for too long as the same result will occur.
This is just one of many egg tips that Fisher offers in her book. I think the approach she offers is easier and will result in a nicer egg. A win-win. Check out the book ‘How to cook a wolf’ to learn a variety of tricks and tips for your favorite dishes.