Just the Basics #2: Boiling Eggs

What’s in an egg?

Eggs are surprisingly packed with all sorts of good stuff, including 14 essential nutrients. According to getcracking.ca, “Nutritionally, eating an egg is like taking a multivitamin pill.” So at the beginning of the week, boil up a dozen and eat them as snacks or as part of meals (for example: chopped on green salads, or mixed with mayo, green onions, and salt and pepper for simple egg salad). They’re inexpensive, healthy, and easy to prepare!

Get Started:
Place eggs in one layer in a saucepan or pot. Pour a bit of vinegar (a few tablespoons) in, as well as some salt (roughly a teaspoon). Next, add cold water (pour in enough so that there is two inches of water covering the eggs) and bring to a boil over high heat; cover, and turn off stove.

Pick your style:
Soft Boiled
Leave in pot for 3 (for very runny yolk) to 5 (for a less runny, but still soft yolk) minutes, remove, serve immediately. To serve: slice off top off egg, place in egg cup, and enjoy!

Hard Boiled
Leave in pot for about 15 minutes. It’s okay to leave them in for a little longer if you need to or if you want to make sure that they’re fully cooked. Let cool gradually at room temperature and then refrigerate (for up to a week), or if you are serving them immediately, place them in a colander and run cold water over top until they’re cool enough to handle. To serve: roll egg along a hard surface using the palm of your hand and gentle pressure so the shell cracks. Begin to pull shell off at the wider end of the egg (the bottom), and if it doesn’t peel off easily, pour water over top (where you’ve begun to remove the shell) to help separate it from the egg. Keep this in mind: eggs that aren’t really fresh as well as hard-boiled eggs that have been refrigerated for a couple of days will be easier to peel.