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The Most Unhealthy Thing You've Ever Made
Just had this one, recipe follows for all of you seriously in need of upping your cholesterol levels:
Boil or bake a potato and keep hot. Soft boil an egg: The white should just be set and the yolk still runny. Cut a cross in the potato and squeeze to expose inside and create a hollow. Add salt and a generous dollop of butter. Slice the top off the egg and dribble/scoop the yolk into the potato. Top with grated Tusser's or Cheddar cheese and shredded pepper ham. Pig out.
The Food Lab: Perfect Boiled Eggs
I find eggs much more likely to crack as a result of rapid change in temperature when taken straight from the fridge and added to boiling water. Adding salt draws out some of the liquid in the egg, so that it is less likely to crack.
Oddly, two factors that in my experience make a significant difference are not mentioned: height above sea level and weather (the higher and rainier, the lower the boiling point of water, and the longer it takes for eggs to set.)
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
Embarrassing dining moment, do I go back? (Gross out caution!)
Once when traveling I had a stomach bug, and as a precautionary measure I went into a local burger restaurant. They had only one toilet, and when I saw it I knew I was going to make a mess: Basically the only choice I had was between puking on the floor while sitting on the toilet, or getting the area in front of the wash basin slippery... I sat down, and used the single toilet roll to clean up as much as I could.
Worse happened to a colleague who, while at an overseas resort, got Montezuma's curse on a topless beach with no toilets. She stormed into a posh restaurant, but it was too late. Presumably the patrons will always remember the sight of a virtually naked woman bursting in and out at the same time...
The Most Unhealthy Thing You've Ever Made
Just had this one, recipe follows for all of you seriously in need of upping your cholesterol levels:
Boil or bake a potato and keep hot. Soft boil an egg: The white should just be set and the yolk still runny. Cut a cross in the potato and squeeze to expose inside and create a hollow. Add salt and a generous dollop of butter. Slice the top off the egg and dribble/scoop the yolk into the potato. Top with grated Tusser's or Cheddar cheese and shredded pepper ham. Pig out.
The Food Lab: Perfect Boiled Eggs
I find eggs much more likely to crack as a result of rapid change in temperature when taken straight from the fridge and added to boiling water. Adding salt draws out some of the liquid in the egg, so that it is less likely to crack.
Oddly, two factors that in my experience make a significant difference are not mentioned: height above sea level and weather (the higher and rainier, the lower the boiling point of water, and the longer it takes for eggs to set.)
Tuna Spread with Capers
Best tasting fish paté I've yet eaten - and much cheaper than most, too! I found the texture a bit runny, so unless your tuna is really tightly packed, I'd reduce the olive oil, or even leave it out. I didn't have capers apart from the three the anchovies were wrapped round, but nasturtium leaves from the garden made a good and free substitute. In my opinion the paté was salty enough without adding extra salt.
How Do You Define a Grilled Cheese Sandwich?
In South Africa, where I live, a grilled cheese sandwich contains a minimum of bread, butter and cheese, and is done on a barbecue grid. (Usually onions, tomato and salt and black pepper are added when cooked this way. Whether it still remains a grilled cheese sandwich I'm not sure.) A similar sandwich done under an oven grill would be a toasted cheese, onion and tomato (and whatever else is added) sandwich. Done in a sandwich maker, it becomes a snackwich. The cheese used is usually Cheddar or a similar cheese, NEVER, EVER processed cheese!
Paying for someone else's party?
Sorry, that should read "contribution is EXPECTED"...
Paying for someone else's party?
I believe that asking people to contribute more than their own bottle of wine is okay if (a) it is not a party specifically hosted by someone for someone or themselves, but rather a surprise or get-together co-planned by a group (b) everyone knows what contribution is accepted BEFORE they're asked to make up their minds about attending. We have, for instance, a private dining club where everyone pays a fixed amount to the host for the evening, and it was made clear to all who joined before they did so that this applied. If a person would like a get-together at, say, a restaurant with friends on her birthday but can't afford to pay for those she invites, I'd suggest she invites them while making clear that everyone pays their own way - but just call it an evening out, rather than a birthday celebration. Attendees should not feel pressured to bring gifts.
Healthy & Delicious: White Chicken Chili
The burning sensation of chillies is neutralised by other members of the same plant family, which is why chilli relatives like greenpepper, tomato and potato all turn the fire down when eaten with chilli. The juice of fresh tomatoes works a treat for removing the burning sensation from your hands. (If you're unfortunate enough to get it in your eyes, though, rather use milk to wash it out!)
Maple Sausage Breakfast Casserole
Sorry, this is, sort of, the Third World where I live! (At least we have interesting wildlife...;-)) Would pork bangers do instead, or are these sausages totally different?
Maple Sausage Breakfast Casserole
Looks interesting, but what is maple breakfast sausage? And while I'm asking, what is the difference between Belgian and other waffles? (Where I live you only get one kind - the ones that get crisp and have a square grid pattern.)
Dinner Tonight: Couscous-Stuffed Peppers
Did it for dinner tonight, with a few modifications: I substituted a generous spoonful of garlic for the coriander, which I don't like, and left out the carrots, which didn't seem to belong. As I didn't have goat's milk cheese, I used Danish feta, which worked wonderfully. Although I had some of the same doubts as suburbangourmet and iyamapotato, it worked out great and very tasty - not dry at all, and the chickpeas were fine whole. Could also be a very good vegetarian main dish if you used tomato stock instead of chicken, as I did.
Who Should Pay at a Birthday Dinner?
On my 21st birthday my classmates at university persuaded the lecturers that this was a special occasion, and that, instead of us having a laboratory practical session, they insisted on "sticking" me for an outing. They didn't take me to a restaurant, as I'd hoped, but to a movie... and when we got to pay, my "sponsors" were all looking the other way. It was totally embarrassing, as I'd arrived at the class without a cent in my pocket, and I had to borrow money for my ticket. Worst of all, I don't even like watching movies...
Gooseberries... What are they and what can you do with them?
Indeed - all the gooseberries we get where I live are cape(d) gooseberries, which look nothing like those! How do they compare tastewise?
Speaking of recipes being tested....
One of my biggest problems with recipes is timing. With one recipe calling for 30 minutes you practically have the beef still mooing when it should be well-done, with another you have smoke billowing from the oven with ten minutes to go!
Let cookie dough rest, and other secrets
Perhaps it is not so much the time the dough spends resting as the time the baker (and family) spends drooling in anticipation that makes the cookies taste so much better...
Dinner Tonight: Grilled Caesar Salad
For a light meal instead of a side dish, I'd add very crisp crumbled streaky bacon, some shavings of cheddar, Tussers or Colchester cheese, and avocado. Cherry tomato wouldn't do any harm, either...
Interesting idea to grill the lettuce - doesn't it turn romaine more bitter than it is already? I do often stir-fry leftover salads - as long as they don't contain avocado - and mix them with rice or pasta (and cheese, when I feel like a bit of extravagance) for a make-shift lunch. Cooked lettuce is delicious, but expect a sizable reduction in quantity!
The Food Lab: Perfect Boiled Eggs
@bgruber
Thanks to SeriousEats convenient comment subscriptions, I get comments forwarded to my inbox, so yep. Still reading them.
As for the answer... em... because Cook's Illustrated readers like their salmon more well-done than I do?
shh... don't tell Chris!
The Food Lab: Perfect Boiled Eggs
Kenji, if you're still reading the comments on this...
"This is very similar to the gunk that seeps out of the surface of overcooked salmon."
When you did the poached/steamed salmon on ATK, you had white gunk, but made a point to say that it didn't mean the salmon was overcooked. Why the discrepancy? Was that a special case because of the cooking method?
Also, thanks for this and all of your articles on here. They've been great.
Embarrassing dining moment, do I go back? (Gross out caution!)
@RisaG, My mom used to do the same thing your husband did. Except she brought us into the bathroom for the spanking instead. We were to understand that going out to eat was a privilege and it could be taken away from us. On the whole, we were well-behaved kids. If we weren't, it didn't take much more than a smack on the bottom to get us to behave. At least to sit still and be quiet. I think my mom's method was pretty effective. It's hard to discipline kids in front of a lot of people. And kids know when they are embarrassing their parents and will take advantage of that to get their way.
Embarrassing dining moment, do I go back? (Gross out caution!)
I own a restaurant and trust me, accidents like this happen all the time. The worst part is the distinctive aroma wafting about afterwards! Thank God for good ventilation and air Lysol. And I agree with some of the above comments...the rowdy, screaming, mess makers whose parents just sit and ignore them are the worst. Them I can do without.
Embarrassing dining moment, do I go back? (Gross out caution!)
My son used to do things to embarrass us in restaurants all the time when he was little - either by moving the furniture around, or screaming and having fits because he didn't want to eat, always something. The last time was in Atlanta, GA at Glady's Knights restaurant. We ordered a bowl of macaroni & cheese for him - he only liked Kraft from the box and really didn't like the fresh kind. I ordered a meal and it came with mac. So, he tasted it. He thought it was ok enough to actually eat some so we ordered a serving for him. When he started to eat it, my husband ordered another serving thinking he would eat it too (he had a huge appetite and still does). Well, he shouldn't have ordered it because the second he ordered it, he had a fit and wouldn't eat the first serving. He had such a huge fit, that my husband had to take him outside - where he gave him a little spanking. One of the guests happen to see him doing it through the window and came outside to talk to him.
When he brought him back in, he refused to eat anything - even the waffles. So, we left (after I finished my food). As we were leaving, the man spoke to us again (the one who came out to talk to hubby). He explained that it looked very bad and he felt bad for our son. We explained to him that our son did that constantly and he was just doing it to get attention and not to worry, we were not abusive parents - really! We were just trying to teach him a lesson. We never went back to Glady's restaurant. Now when we remind him of it, he doesn't remember the time at all. We sure do!
The Most Unhealthy Thing You've Ever Made
French toast made from doughnuts, filled with ice cream and gingered mangos and topped with hot caramel sauce. Since I do not foresee making this again (blessedly my beau does not have a sweet tooth), no regrets for this one-time splurge.
The Food Lab: Perfect Boiled Eggs
@ScoutinSpokane - sounds like something that might be good for the toaster oven.
The Most Unhealthy Thing You've Ever Made
A sauce made with sliced breakfast sausages, cream of chicken soup, Hellman's mayonnaise, lemon juice, ground pepper, broccoli, shredded aged cheddar on top and served over pasta or rice. The sauce smells vile but it actually tastes delicious and I would even go so far as call it comfort food. I often find myself craving this sauce during winter.
The Food Lab: Perfect Boiled Eggs
I adore soft boiled eggs!! I could eat 10 at a time for sure!
The Food Lab: Perfect Boiled Eggs
Kenji,
The heat transfer rate/area = (coefficient of thermal conductivity)*(T_bath-T_egg)/distance
The equation is the same regardless of the medium. The dependence on the medium comes from the thermal conductivity coefficient.
Also, I agree with you that we are the only two involved in this conversation right now :)
The Food Lab: Perfect Boiled Eggs
I may have missed it, but I didn't see any comments about baking "hard boiled" eggs. I didn't think it would work when I saw the article, but just set the raw eggs on middle rack of a cold oven, (they recommend a little foil on the bottom of the oven in case one is cracked and breaks - never had it happen) set oven temp to 325, set timer to 30 min., when timer goes off, drop in very cold water. I've done it several times, worked perfect everytime. Tried pulling some out at 25 min., yolks were not completely set good enough for devilled eggs, but perfect for eating with a little salt and pepper. One complaint about this method is wasting electricity just for a few eggs. I had my potatoes wrapped in foil, some bread rolls rising, and some jalepeno poppers that I bake as an appetizer ready to go in at appropriate times once full temp was reached. Egg salad sandwiches, potato salad, some appetizers, and probably hashbrowns for breakfast in my future. What energy waste?
The Food Lab: Perfect Boiled Eggs
@pookay
p.s. All of this is starting to remind me why thermodynamics was my second least favorite class in college :)
The Food Lab: Perfect Boiled Eggs
@pookay - yes, you're right. I jumped the gun in my response there. I stand corrected.
But at the risk of putting my foot in my mouth again, I'm going to ask you another question: my immediate reaction is that your statement that the rate of heating is inversely proportional to the distance is not quite accurate, because it does not take into account the heat transfer coefficient of the egg. In a vacuum, yes, the rate of heating is proportional to only the distance, but an egg has mass, and so there is a coefficient involved, and that coefficient is proportional to thickness of the egg that the heat has to pass through, so does that not turn the equation into an exponential one instead of a linear one?
And one more question: are we losing the other SEers here? :)
The Food Lab: Perfect Boiled Eggs
Kenji,
The contradition I pointed out still stands no matter what constants are involved since any constant divided by zero is still infinity.
The rate of heating per area is proportional to the temperature difference and inversely proportional to the distance (this actually means that in the instant right after the cool egg is put in the boiling water, the rate of heat transfer to the outer surface of the egg is infinite; note that this is not a paradox since an infinite rate times an infinitely small time interval is still a finite amount of heat). The temperature itself is not inversely proportional to the distance (or the square of the distance); solving the rate equation, the temperature approaches that of the boiling water exponentially fast with time so that if you wait long enough the whole egg will be the same temperature as the bath. The distance to the heat bath appears only in the exponent, so that the closer to the bath, the faster the temperature changes.
The Food Lab: Perfect Boiled Eggs
@Pookay
Thanks for the correction, although I think the original statement is technically not inaccurate - the temperature I did say proportional, which is not to say that there are not constants involved (such as the temperature of the heat source) in the equation that takes care of the zero/infinity case.
Newton's law of cooling only states that the rate of heat transfer is proportional to the temperature difference between the body and its surroundings - it doesn't have anything to do the temperature gradient formed within a solid mass. To solve that, I think it helps to think of the egg as something like a russian doll - a series of solids. From there you can see that because of Newton's law of cooling, the outer layers heat up at a much faster rate than the inner layers and that the differences in the rate at which the various layers are heating up is proportional to the distance, which means that the differences in the actual temperatures of the various layers are proportional to the inverse square of the distance.
@Attack monkey
I was doing it lid off - but like I said in the post, you can't control for all the variables that might affect cooking time - your house might be a few degrees cooler than mine, or your stove might have a few more btu's than mine. This article is meant more as a guide so that you know what aspects to consider when boiling an egg, and so that you understand the science behind it, and will thus be able to optimize cooking in your own particular environment. If that means putting on a lid to reduce the rate of heat loss, so be it!
- Kenji
The Food Lab: Perfect Boiled Eggs
@J. Kenji Lopez-Alt
Awesome write-up, I disdain cooking but am a scientist at heart... First thing I did was cruise down to the kitchen to give it a shot. When doing HB (but also SB) are you putting/leaving the lid on? That significantly changes the rate of heat loss to the environment and can make a big change in the water temperature variation over time...?
The Food Lab: Perfect Boiled Eggs
As a scientist, I'm glad that someone is starting a series focusing on this aspect of cooking. However, I would like to point out an inconsistency:
"when a mass is exposed to heat for a given period of time, a temperature gradient will form within that mass, with the area closest to the heat source being hottest, and the area furthest from the heat source being coolest. With very few exceptions, the temperature of a given spot in the food is proportional to the inverse square of its distance from the surface exposed to the heat source."
If this were true, since the distance from the heat source at the surface of the egg is zero, this would imply that the surface of the egg has infinite temperature. I think you mean to say that the RATE of heat conduction depends on the distance from the heat source (as well as the temperature difference). Also, the rate of heat conduction is proportional to the inverse of the distance from the source, NOT the inverse squared (Newton's law of cooling).
The Food Lab: Perfect Boiled Eggs
I love the scientific approach to the art of boiling an egg. However, I am surprised the author did not mention the temperature of the egg going into the water. Were his eggs right out of the refrigerator (I don't thing so) or were they at room temperature? This is an important consideration and I am surprised that it wasn't mentioned!
The Food Lab: Perfect Boiled Eggs
I will beg to differ on the instructions given here.
You *can* have more control and reduce the variables involved in cooking your eggs. First of all, starting with cold eggs right out of the fridge is a mistake. You are maximizing the temperature difference between the egg's starting temperature and its final temperature. You will have much more control if you warm the eggs first. I place them in a bath of hot tap water for 10 minutes while I heat my water.
Secondly, I place the eggs directly into boiling water. The reason I put the eggs directly into boiling water is that waiting for a boil is a "soft target". What you consider a boil or a simmer could be as much as a minute different from someone else.
Lastly, I stop the cooking after a prescribed period of time by pouring off most of the hot water and replacing it with water and ice.
In summary: 1) I reduce the temperature change that will be required from the starting point of the egg to the end point of the process by warming the eggs up. 2) I avoid soft milestones by placing the eggs directly into boiling water at the beginning of the cooking process. 3) I stop the cooking (and improve the peel of the egg) by using an ice wash at the end.
BTW, if you want hot eggs, pull them out after only 10 or 15 seconds. The ice water will have already improved the peel by cooling the membrane and surface of the egg without cooling the inside of the egg. You can even peel the egg most of the time before the heat rebounds and makes the egg too hot to hold. A neat trick!
The Food Lab: Perfect Boiled Eggs
I've been doing it the way that Sara Moulton mentioned on her show many years ago - put the eggs in a saucepan covered with water. Bring it to a boil, not a hard boil. Turn off heat. Cover and let sit on a cold burner for a specific amount of time (I think she said 13 minutes but I do it for 16 minutes).
Remove carefully. Crack. Peel.
I find that if I crack them a bit and then refrigerate for awhile, they peel much easier.
So I am not really boiling per-say. This way I never over-boil, I never get a green line around the yolk, and I don't get that horrid sulphur smell you get from over boiling. Works well every time for me.
The Food Lab: Perfect Boiled Eggs
We did an entire series on "how to eggs" back in July. From getting the basics down we moved the egg out of its normal breakfast role into dinner as well as methods were really fool proof, we tried and tried until, well, perfect! http://www.chezus.com/?s=incredible+egg&x=0&y=0
The Food Lab: Perfect Boiled Eggs
I love this article! I've always thought I was an idiot since every time I boil eggs (I'm a hard boil-type), there is always something wrong with them. Now I know why! Soft boiled eggs look fascinating, but runny yolks gross me out big time.
The Food Lab: Perfect Boiled Eggs
I tried but could not get the "perfect soft-cooked egg" by placing an egg taken straight from the fridge into 180F water, despite meticulously maintaining the water bath at eggsactly 180F for the six minutes the egg was immersed. The egg was considerably undercooked, with the whites fairly liquidy. I'm going to try egg-en.
The Food Lab: Perfect Boiled Eggs
Ah....why am I only now finding this site??? The first article I read is the best thing since my Food Science class in culinary AND I find that it references the chef I admire most! I am ova-ly eggstatic! This has been worth the hunt...Knowing the whys and hows only make us better at what we love doing most.
The Food Lab: Perfect Boiled Eggs
Thank you, thank you! This was egg-citing to read because being a food nerd, I did always want to know egg-xactly how to boil the perfect egg. So thank you for shelling out this info!!!
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Once when traveling I had a stomach bug, and as a precautionary measure I went into a local burger restaurant. They had only one toilet, and when I saw it I knew I was going to make a mess: Basically the only choice I had was between puking on the floor while sitting on the toilet, or getting the area in front of the wash basin slippery... I sat down, and used the single toilet roll to clean up as much as I could.
Worse happened to a colleague who, while at an overseas resort, got Montezuma's curse on a topless beach with no toilets. She stormed into a posh restaurant, but it was too late. Presumably the patrons will always remember the sight of a virtually naked woman bursting in and out at the same time...