My husband recently said to me, “You don’t make hard boiled eggs right. The Wall Street Journal says that there are 16 steps involved in making good hard boiled eggs.”
I said, “Is that so there isn’t a green line around the yolk?”
He said, “No, it’s so the yolk has a nice texture.”
He then sent me the article. It was titled, The Science Backed, 16-Step Method for the Perfect Boiled Egg. It basically said to alternate every 2 minutes for 32 minutes between having the eggs in boiling water and tepid (86 degree F.) water.
After reading the article, I said, “That’s stupid. You just put the eggs in a pan of water, bring it almost to a boil, reduce the heat so it stays just below boiling, and time them for 20 minutes. Then you drain them and put them in a pan of cold water for a couple of minutes. Sometimes people make things unduly complicated. If you want 16-step eggs, you’ll have to make them yourself.”
But, the article did make me curious about how people historically made hard boiled eggs. That sent me to a hundred-year-old cookbook to see how they made hard boiled eggs in 1925:
To cook eggs so that they will be firm all the way through and yet not tough or indigestible, put them in a saucepan of boiling water, cover closely and place on the part of the stove where the water will remain very hot, but not boil and let stand for twenty minutes.
The Rumford Complete Cook Book (1925)
I then decided to see what the directions for making hard boiled eggs were midway between a century ago and now. I have a Betty Crocker cookbook published about 50 years ago (actually 49 years ago). It gave both cold water and boiling water methods:
Cold Water Method: Place eggs in saucepan; add enough cold water to come at least 1 inch above eggs. Heat rapidly to boiling. Remove from heat; cover. Let stand 22 to 24 minutes. Immediately cool eggs in cold water to prevent further cooking. . .
Boiling Water Method: Place eggs in bowl of warm water to prevent shells from cracking. Fill saucepan with enough water to come at least 1 inch above eggs; heat to boiling. With spoon, transfer eggs from warm water to boiling water. Reduce heat to below simmering; cook 20 minutes. Immediately cool eggs in cold water to prevent further cooking.
Betty Crocker’s Cookbook (1976)
The way I make hard boiled eggs is a variation of the 100-year-old directions as well as of the 50-year-old ones. I may be set in my ways, but I’m sticking with how I’ve always made hard boiled eggs. My bet is that the 16-step method is just a fad.
Ours most resembles the Betty Crocker cold water method. Though if doing it your way, 6 – 7 minutes seems to work just fine! I’ve read about the new improved scientific method. Honestly … life’s too short!
I agree – Life’s too short to make 16-step eggs. Simpler methods work fine.
I was asked to bring deviled eggs to a picnic. I ended up hard boiling two dozen eggs just to get a dozen halves. I used every method that I could find and none was perfect. (And believe me you can find 12001 versions!)
I think what it boils down to —haha— is how fresh the eggs are.
It’s so frustrating when hard-boiled eggs won’t peel nicely. Sometimes the shells are so easy to get off and other times it’s almost impossible. I think that you’re right. Eggs that are very fresh, don’t peel well.
After years of searching, I found a method that works consistently for me. Bring the water to a full boil. Add the eggs, and bring back to a full boil. After a minute, reduce the heat, and ‘full simmer’ the eggs for 13 minutes. Take off the heat, run cold water over them until they cool just a bit and then add ice. Once the ice has melted, put them in the fridge until they’re completely cold.
It works every time. Pretty yolks, and easy to peel, which was my main issue.
That advice is just the NYT trying to show they’re smarter than everyone else.
I’m going to try your method. I cook pasta by boiling water, add pasta, bring to boil, put lid on and remove from heat. After the time displayed on the noodle package, I check for doneness; it usually is. I’ve never overcooked it, no boil-over.
So, your method is somewhat familiar due to the aforementioned. Thanks for your input.
Woo Hoo.
Egg salad sandwiches, here we come.
mmm. . . I haven’t had an egg salad sandwich in ages. I may have to make one.
I put eggs in cold water after I take them off the heat, but I’ve never added ice. I’ll have to give that a try since I sometimes have difficulty peeling eggs.
Interesting! I guess it’s like most things: everyone has a different opinion. My way (foolproof) is to put eggs in a pan with cold water, bring to a boil and let them boil for about 15 minutes. Then run cold water over them for several minutes, let them sit in the cold water for a few minutes more. I never have any problem shelling them. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right???!
That’s what I do, too, except that I add ice to the cold water. I’ve always thought–was told, maybe–that fresh eggs are harder to peel. So if I’m planning to make deviled eggs, I buy the eggs about a week ahead of time.
When I was a child, we had a few chickens on the farm, so we generally ate very fresh eggs. However, if my mother wanted to make hard boiled eggs, she’d usually set them aside for a few days before hard boiling them. But, right before Easter, when we wanted to color lots of eggs, we sometimes hard-boiled some very fresh eggs, and they were almost impossible to peel.
I agree – It it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. 🙂
Such a human problem. No one mentioned the pan. My mother said it had to be an enamel pan. She taught us to put them in an enamel pan of cold water, set a timer for 20 minutes, bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer. I found a glass pan works well too.
That’s interesting – I wonder how the metal in metal pans interacts with the eggs.
Iron in the pan (and water) will react with the sulfur in the egg, which will cause the green colour.
Thanks for the info. I learned something new. I had always thought that the green color was caused by not cooling the eggs quickly enough.
We were briefly in a furnished apartment with metal pans and could not get the eggs pealed. Blamed it on the pan.
16 steps! Someone obviously has a lot of time on their hands!
I agree.
Trying to justify how to boil eggs is very much like which came first..the chicken or the egg. Some questions are never answered.
Good point – it’s impossible to answer some questions.
We steam our eggs in a Russell Hobbs steamer, works perfectly! For hard boiled eggs it’s 11 or 12 minutes, depending on the size.
I never thought about steaming eggs. I’ll have to give it a try.
We think it’s a simple and reliable process plus the result is very good. And only 1 step!
🤣 Sixteen steps to boil an egg!!!! Someone had waaaaaaay too much time on their hands. I boiled eggs based on my mother’s second edition Betty Crocker Cookbook from the 50’s. When I got an Instant Pot, I started steaming my eggs.
Someone definitely had too much time on their hands. I would vote for using the Betty Crocker cookbook method for boiling eggs over the 16 steps in the newspaper.
Me too!
Everybody knows we all learned to boil eggs the same way our mothers and grandmothers did. Even my husband can boil eggs and they turn out just fine every time. Sounds like a solution in search of a problem–got more important things to do with our time now…like saving the universe.
The traditional way of boiling eggs has stood the test of time. It’s so easy. There’s definitely more important things to do with our time than making 16-step eggs. 🙂
hubby makes the best boiled eggs. Boil some water, gently place the eggs into the pot, let them boil for 6 or 7 minutes- longer if you want them harder. Done!
Works for me.
I use the cold water method, but I do add a tsp of baking soda and chill in the refrigerator until they are cold to help with peeling.
I never previously heard about adding baking soda to the water when boiling eggs. I’ll have to give it a try. Sometimes I have difficulty peeling them.
What I wonder is… if anyone has done the 16 step eggs! 😁 I’m not fussy how my eggs are boiled, and if I’m going to put the boiled egg on toast, I don’t even have to have it fully cooked.
I’m guessing that not many people beyond the person who came up with the complicated process have actually made 16-step eggs. Similarly to you, I’m also not fussy about how my eggs are boiled. I’m unhappy if they crack when I’m boiling them, but otherwise I’m very laid back about them.
Interesting. I wonder if it matters if you start with eggs that have been sitting at room temperature or have been stored in the refrigerator?
I’m pretty lazy cook but this works for me: I take about 10 eggs from the fridge, add cold tap water to about an inch over the eggs in the pot. I put the pot on the stove on medium high and leave it there to boil for 20 minutes. (It takes about 10 min. for it to start boiling.) I take the eggs out and put them in a bowl and put them directly back in the refrigerator.
Uncomplicated and they come out just fine. I have two for breakfast every morning.
hmm. . . I don’t know whether it makes a difference if you start with eggs that are at room temperature instead of using eggs directly out of the refrigerator. I sometimes have problems with eggs cracking when I boil them, which I blame on allowing the water to get too hot and the boiling motion pushing the eggs together and breaking the shells, but maybe it has something to do with the starting temperature of the eggs.
For more then 1 or 2 eggs I steam them now…. Peel so much easier to peel.
.I Have been known to show up with egg salad instead of deviled eggs when peeling is problematic.
Boiling water with a rack so the eggs are not in the water….cover and steam for 9 minutes. Pull them out and into ice water and let them set about 10 minutes…. Easy Peasy egg pealing! I don’t lose 2 in a dozen when making deviled eggs….
When I make devilled eggs I always seem to mess up one or two halves, which I then finely chop and add to the filling. I’ll have to try putting them in ice water.
Yah…I work in the broken eggs to the filling unless its just to much pain in the asset. then they get egg salad and fancy crackers instead of deviled eggs.
I’m going to have to let my husband know – his idea of a hardboiled egg is to boil the living daylights out of them for 20 minutes. The yolk is always green!! If I make deviled eggs I have to do it when he’s not around so that I have yellow yolks!! I use the cold water method and always have good results!
I’d definitely choose the eggs you make over his.