How to Cook the Perfect Hard-Boiled Egg
This Flash application from the University of Oslo figures out the optimal time to cook a hard-boiled egg based on four factors: the egg's circumference, the level of doneness you want the egg to be, the start temperature of the egg, and the elevation you're cooking at. Now every egg you cook will be perfect—as long as you measure its circumference and temperature, and know how many meters above sea level you are. (And to think all this time I was just boiling my eggs for seven minutes, give or take a few seconds.) The website is in Norwegian, but for a scientific explanation of cooking hard-boiled eggs in English go to khymos.org. [via Lifehacker]
Related: Nick Kindelsperger on How To Cook Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs
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3 Comments:
Perfect eggs every time (no circumference measurements necessary): Put eggs in cold water, cover, and bring to a boil. The second the water boils, remove the pot from the heat and leave covered for exactly 18 minutes. I think it's Julia Child's method. Julia never disappoints.
ProfessorChaos at 12:54PM on 04/08/09
I use Alton Brown's steaming method -- seems to make the shells come off a little easier and there's less cracking from the eggs bouncing into each other.
The time is -very- altitude dependent, because whether you boil or steam you're limited by the boiling point of water (202F/94C here in Denver). I like my eggs just short of totally done, so 15 minutes works a treat.
rheogs at 1:27PM on 04/08/09
I work with the American Egg Board and they have a simple 1-2-3 method (no chart required): http://incredibleegg.org/recipes-and-more/basic-hardcooked-eggs. There are also some new recipes on the site.
Don't forget to save your hard-COOKED (not boiled!) eggs for National Egg Salad Week, which starts Monday. Yes, there's a week!
laurenc at 11:25PM on 04/08/09