Absolute Best Tests
The Absolute Best Way to Boil Eggs, According to So Many Tests
My kitchen will never, ever smell the same.
In Absolute Best Tests, our writer Ella Quittner destroys the sanctity of her home kitchen in the name of the truth. She's mashed dozens of potatoes, seared more Porterhouse steaks than she cares to recall, and tasted enough types of bacon to concern a cardiologist. Today, she tackles hard-boiled eggs.
Humans have been boiling eggs for a very long time.
By some accounts, it all began with egg roasting about a million years ago. This likely evolved into egg boiling around 5000 B.C., thanks to the invention of pottery. And more recently than that, boiled eggs are thought to have cropped up in Ancient Rome, where wealthy patricians served them as an appetizer course called gustatio. (Apicius, a collection of Roman recipes compiled sometime between the first and fifth century A.D., corroborates this with recipes for seasoning and topping boiled eggs.)
So it's no surprise that when one Googles "best way to boil an egg” in 2019, one must contend with a cool 65 million results.
On the first page alone, certain guides would have you lower your eggs into simmering water, to cook for eight minutes. Others would like you to steam them in a basket several inches above the water line. Some sites make chimerical promises ("perfectly, every time") while many get straight into the mechanics: the equipment, the slotted support paraphernalia, the ice bath of it all.
The official recommendation of the American Egg Board—known beyond its eponymous cause for a rabble-rousing role in the "Just Mayo" labelling scandal—is to bring the eggs and water to a boil, then remove the pot from heat and cover to let steep for 9 to 15 minutes, depending on egg size.
Food52's own endorsements have ranged from the "bring to a boil then cut heat and cover" method to "10-minute boil + ice bath" to "c'mon, just use an Instant Pot."
Which brings us to 5:45 a.m. a few Fridays ago, when I found myself standing in front of eight cartons of eggs and every slotted spoon in my home. In the freezer lay two XXXL bags of ice. On my countertop was an Instant Pot, one of those nefarious-looking sous vide wands, a whole bunch of stockpots, and, for reasons not germane to this blog post, a breakfast cookie.
I knew what I had to do: Spend an ungodly amount of time boiling egg after egg, according to the Internet's most-touted methods, all in pursuit of the truth. What is the best way to boil an egg?
And while the results were far from fully conclusive, one thing's for certain: My apartment hasn't smelled the same, since.
In a world where so very much is out of my control, I relished in exercising a few simple constancy factors for these experiments:
- Size and brand: I purchased dozens and dozens of the same generic-brand, large eggs from the supermarket below my apartment.
- Age: I used eggs that were all roughly the same “age”—as in, they were all purchased the same day (with a few weeks to go on their expiration date) and left to sit in the refrigerator for a week.
- Temperature: For each boiling test, the egg-subject was at room temperature. (Dropping cold eggs into hot water can make them crack.)
- No funny business: I skipped baking soda and vinegar in the water, based on Sarah Jampel's prior tests.
- Ice bath for peeling: Each egg was transferred immediately from its cook method to a large ice bath, where it sat a full five minutes before I peeled it under water.
Method:
Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Use a slotted wooden spoon to gently lower in an egg. Boil, uncovered, then immediately transfer to an ice bath to cool before peeling.
Variables:
Let cook in boiling water for 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, or 13 minutes.
Why Science (Okay, the Internet) Says It's Best:
Eggs should get a hot start (whether boiling, steaming, or pressure cooking) because "slow-cooked egg whites bond more strongly with the membrane on the inside of an eggshell"—aka, they're easier to peel—according to Serious Eats.
Ease of Method:
Straightforward to execute. Very no-fuss, requiring no special equipment. At one point, I did need to fiddle with the flame to maintain a boil.
Ease of Peel:
Encountered almost no peeling issues. "These tests'll be a breeze," I thought, giddily—hours later, fingertips raw and somehow simultaneously burning and icy, I looked back on this moment and laughed darkly.
Egg Results:
In all eggs, the whites and yolks had a pleasant texture—no rubbery whites, here. The six-minute egg was an especially creamy specimen, if you're into a soft-boil. In one (the eight-minuter), the yolk weirdly sank down to the bottom of the white, though this didn’t affect anything other than appearance. Overall, this was the most straightforward method with the best bang-for-your-effort-buck results.
Method:
Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Turn down heat until water is at a rolling simmer. Use a slotted wooden spoon to gently lower in an egg. Simmer, uncovered, then immediately transfer to an ice bath to cool before peeling.
Variables:
Let cook in simmering water for 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, or 13 minutes.
Why Science (Okay, the Internet) Says It's Best:
You want to keep egg temperatures lower than what a full-on boil for the whole cook would produce (rubbery whites, chalky yolks)—Serious Eats swears by a hybrid version of the simmer and the standard boil, where eggs are lowered into boiling water and left for 30 seconds, before the temperature is turned down and eggs are cooked, covered, at a low simmer for 11 minutes.
Ease of Method:
Easier said than done. Maintaining a "rolling simmer"—at least, in the uncovered way I was testing—is a hands-on endeavor. That said, no special equipment is needed.
Ease of Peel:
Peeling was breezy, as with the standard boil set. The only exception was the six-minute egg, which was of course less cooked than its standard-boil counterpart, and required a very delicate hand to avoid jabbing a thumb into its tender white.
Egg Results:
No immediately discernible difference in texture or flavor of eggs than with the standard boil set—except that, like the aforementioned six-minute guy, each egg was of course slightly less cooked than its standard-boil counterpart. The 13-minute egg had a strangely shaped air pocket dent at its base.
Method:
Add a couple inches of water to a large pot. Place steamer insert inside, well above the water line. Cover. Bring water to a boil over high heat. Remove cover, add egg, cover, and steam. Immediately transfer to an ice bath to cool before peeling.
Variables:
Steam for 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, or 13 minutes.
Why Science (Okay, the Internet) Says It's Best:
Steam supposedly cooks the eggs more gently, yielding a creamier texture. There's less risk of cracking since cold eggs never hit hot water, and they're apparently easier to peel because they avoid a big temperature jump.
Ease of Method:
Straightforward to execute. Requires a steamer insert (or tight-fitting colander) and a fitted lid, though unlike the boil-and-steep method, does not require transferring a heavy, hot pot.
Ease of Peel:
Overall, the most difficult test batches to peel. Had to wrestle with lots of shell bits stuck stubbornly to tender whites, ultimately resulting in torn whites during the final extrications.
Egg Results:
Despite peel-stage drama, these were the Platonic ideal of a boiled egg: the whites silky as pudding, the yolks luxuriant and velvety as a Laura Ashley Christmas dress.
Method:
Add eggs and cold water to a pot—have at least an inch of water above the eggs. Bring water to a rolling boil, uncovered. Once a boil is achieved, cut the heat, cover the pot, and move off of the hot burner. Let egg steep in water for prescribed time, then immediately transfer to an ice bath to cool before peeling.
Variables:
Let steep for 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, or 13 minutes.
Why Science (Okay, the Internet) Says It's Best:
"Starting with cold water lets you heat the egg more slowly, which keeps the whites from getting rubbery," says the Exploratorium.
Ease of Method:
Straightforward to execute. Only slightly fussier than the standard boil and standard simmer, as it requires a fitted lid, and movement of a hot and potentially heavy pot mid-process.
Ease of Peel:
Peeling these test batches was an emotional roller coaster. Some were perfectly fine (my note on the eight-minute egg reads, insanely, "a true pleasure to peel—like slipping off your jacket in the park on the first sunny day of the season"), and others, like the 11-minute egg, were a nightmare.
Egg Results:
The eggs themselves had a wonderfully consistent texture throughout the whites of each. The longer-steeped yolks got chalky-tasting after the 10-minute steep mark. The eight- and nine-minute eggs were oddly misshapen, which is a purely aesthetic criticism.
Method:
Pour one cup of room temperature water into an Instant Pot. Set the egg on a steamer insert. Seal and cook on low or high pressure for specific increment of time, at specific pressure level. Immediately transfer to an ice bath to cool before peeling.
Variables:
- Low pressure for four minutes, instant release
- Low pressure for seven minutes, instant release
- High pressure for eight minutes, instant release
- Low pressure for 10 minutes, instant release
- Low pressure for five minutes, five minutes natural release
- High pressure for five minutes, five minutes natural release
- Low pressure for 12 minutes, instant release
- High pressure for two minutes, 12 minutes natural release
Why Science (Okay, the Internet) Says It's Best:
Because using an Instant Pot has the benefits of steaming, minus the guesswork.
Ease of Method:
Second-least straightforward to execute, after sous vide. Owning an Instant Pot is a large barrier to entry. Plus, it takes a while for the Instant Pot to come to pressure, so not a great method if you're pressed for time.
Ease of Peel:
All of these eggs were slightly tricky to peel, but only a few (the high pressure for two minutes + 12 minute natural release, and the low pressure for five minutes + five minute natural release) were a real pain. The eggs for which I'd used the instant release function were more seamless to peel.
Egg Results:
The texture of the eggs was surprisingly more like the standard-boil batch than like the steamed batch. I had no material shape or yolk-sinking issues. For a soft-boil, I'd advocate for low pressure for four minutes + instant release, and for a classic hard-boil, high pressure for five minutes + five minutes natural release (or, if you're worried about peeling, perhaps test low pressure for eight minutes + instant release).
Method:
Use a Joule Sous Vide to bring a vessel of water to 194°F. Cook egg. Immediately transfer to an ice bath to cool before peeling.
Variables:
Cook for 9, 12, 16, 20, and 24 minutes.
Note: There are many ways to sous vide eggs, including the 63°F poached/soft-boil, and the 75°F version. Due to a dwindling supply of eggs, I went with just the 194°F method, which was recommended by Joule's app.
Why Science (Okay, the Internet) Says It's Best:
Precise temperature control should theoretically enable the perfect textures for egg white and yolk.
Ease of Method:
Straightforward to execute if you have an app that correlates to your sous vide tool. As with the Instant Pot, owning the tool itself is a large barrier to entry.
Ease of Peel:
No notable issues.
Egg Results:
In the eggs cooked for a shorter time, the yolks were noticeably richer in texture than most other batches, with the exception of the steamed eggs. That said, not sure it was worth the trouble of procuring and assembling equipment, and waiting for water to come to temperature.
Method:
Dampen a kitchen towel and lay it on the center oven rack. Preheat oven to 325°F. Once preheated, nestle egg onto towel so it rests between the rack's rods in a taut towel hammock. Bake. Immediately transfer to an ice bath to cool before peeling.
Variables:
Bake for 30 and 35 minutes.
Why Science (Okay, the Internet) Says It's Best:
The oven-baked method has been touted on this very site as, "How to Hard Cook Lots of Eggs at Once." (It comes courtesy of Alton Brown.)
Ease of Method:
Deceptively easy to set up, but long to execute, and painful in the end. (See below.)
Ease of Peel:
I debated changing this header to "Debacle of Peel," but I'm a stickler for consistency. I went through so, so many eggs to get to a batch that was actually cooked through enough on all sides to peel. Many earlier tests resulted in big wet spots randomly found in the whites, throughout the peeling process (even if the yolks had already gone chalky). My guess is that my wonky oven environment created too much variability in the temperature to cook the eggs through uniformly.
Egg Results:
The eggs' textures were inconsistent and unpleasant. This method is not worth the trouble.
- The lowest-maintenance method: the standard boil, which produced delicious, consistent, aesthetically-pleasing eggs.
- The method yielding the best texture: the steam (perfect peel-ability be damned!).
- A method that's totally solid and consistent, and great if the only thing in the world you don't own is a timer or watch with second hands: the Instant Pot.
- The worst method: the oven-bake. (But you knew that, right?)
And one more word of advice: Do not attempt this experiment at home unless you find the idea of eating only gribiche for weeks after to be wildly exciting.
Written by: Ella Quittner
Popular on Food52
115 Comments
In the sous vide method, you refer to the 63°F and the 75°F techniques, but I think you meant that in °C? For American temps, you'd be looking at 145°F and 167°F respectively.
steaming is the magic. i put my steamer insert into the pot--heat to a boil. add eggs, reduce to medium, put lid on pot, cook for 12 minutes.
remove from heat, remove insert, drain water, add cold--and a couple of ice cubes.
after the cubes melt, drain water and do the hula with the eggs in the pot--for 30-40 vibrations.
the peels often slide right off while you're doing it.
never fails.
Tasty? You bet, though only, if one truly wants their soft boiled eggs extra, extra crunchy.
OTH, this method of shaking a pot full of cooked eggs to speed peeling works well with hard boiled eggs as a rule. If you try it, be sure to add a bit of water to the pot along with the eggs and cover with a lid. Then shake vigorously (the pot, not you) for a few seconds.
A quick synopsis: Lopez-Alt boiled over 700 eggs from still warm from the chicken to weeks old in the frig. In these experiments, he had multiple people (96) boil, steam, etc. many, many eggs carefully controlling as many variables as possible from length of time, whether starting cold from the fridge, or room temperature, whether starting in cold water or hot, whether adding vinegar or salt to the water, and every combination of cooling from shock to natural cool down, and on and on and on. Not once or twice, but dozens of times for each variable. From a science point of view, he did a thorough investigation in order to corral and contain the degrees of freedom for the overall process.
Of critical importance was the ease of peeling, i.e., whether or not the shell stuck to the white and left the exterior of the boiled egg rough and broken or not. Ease of peeling and taste testing was set up with double blind protocols, so neither the testers nor the supervisor knew before hand how the eggs were cooked. Careful and very extensive records were kept for the whole effort.
In short, there is no perfect method of boiling to ensure 100% ease of peeling, BUT if one is willing to settle for an 87% ease of peeling, do this.
Bring to a boil sufficient water to be about one inch in a pot with the number of eggs to be cooked, place the eggs straight from the fridge into the boiling water and cover. Covering the pot is critical so as to entrap the steam from the boiling water. The fat end of the shell may be pricked before boiling to allow air to escape, if shell cracking is a problem. (In case you missed it, exhaustive testing shows best, but not perfect, results are that you start with frig temp eggs placed directly into a small amount of boiling water and cook covered.)
Depending on the degree of doneness desired, use 6 minutes for soft boiled and 8.5 minutes for "translucent, fudgy yolk," and 11 minutes for hard boiled with just barely firmly set yolk (assumes sea level or near sea level altitudes). He recommends decreasing times by one minute, if the eggs were at room temperature to start.
Drain, peel and eat immediately. Do not shock in an ice-water bath. If using the eggs later, allow to cool naturally after draining, marking the tops of the eggs with a small dot to distinguish these from raw eggs.
That's it.
I have been using this method for several years now after learning of it from Christopher Kimble, when he was still at Cook's/America's Test Kitchen. I find it reassuring that Lopez-Alt's extensive testing supports this conclusion.
Kimble originally touted this method as best for soft boiled eggs to be eaten with the top of the shell removed with one of those top of the shell cracker gadgets, an egg cup, and small egg spoon. Though I must say in that particular show episode, I did not buy then or now Kimble's explanation of why that works. He said that steam is hotter than water and contains more heat. This can be true, but only if the steam is under pressure. A covered pot has only a very slight pressure above room pressure.
Since I had all those things, eggs, top cracker, cups and egg spoons, I found this to work quite well. By extension, I used the same method for hard boiled eggs to be peeled. After draining the hot water, I usually just allow any additional eggs to sit in the pot as I run in tap water in order to cool them just enough to handle. No ice used or needed, if using immediately.
I confess that I do use ice, if the eggs are to be cracked and peeled later, as I want to avoid the "dreaded green yolk" phenomenon. I intend to give the natural cooling method a go based on Lopez-Alt's findings.
I don't usually have ice cubes so I pre-cool a bowl of water in the fridge 20 minutes before I start on the steaming project, which also gives the eggs time to come to room temp.
(Like you, I don’t know why this tester had problems with peeling the steamed eggs. The eggs always peel perfectly in the many times I’ve cooked them this way.)
Join The Conversation