Boiling eggs - that's the way to do it

"Liquid, soft, creamy or firm - everyone likes their breakfast egg different. Whatever cooking level you prefer, the most important utensil for cooking eggs is the clock. Because the cooking time determines the consistency of egg white and egg yolk. So the eggs are cooked just the way you like them!

How long must eggs cook?
To boil eggs, bring water to a boil in a pot. Then carefully add the eggs - for example with the help of a tablespoon. Now set the egg timer and cook according to the desired cooking level. The following cooking times apply to an M size egg at fridge temperature:

4 minutes - the egg white has curdled, the yolk is still quite liquid.
5 minutes - the egg white is firm, the yolk has a soft core.
7 minutes - the egg white and yolk are firm, but the yolk in the middle is still creamy, waxy.
10 minutes - the egg is hard boiled and completely firm.

Hard boiled eggs - duration and shelf life
From 10 minutes on, an egg of size M is hard boiled. However, if you want to take your hard-boiled eggs with you, for example for a picnic or a party, it is better to boil the eggs for 12 minutes. By the way, you can store hard-boiled eggs in the fridge for several weeks. However, make sure that the egg shell does not have any cracks!

Do you have to quench eggs after cooking?

Cooling them under cold water is recommended, especially if you want the eggs to be soft. This stops the cooking process and the eggs retain the desired consistency. Hard boiled eggs do not need to be quenched.

What can be done to prevent the eggs from bursting during cooking?
Who doesn't know this: When cooking eggs, cracks develop in the shell from which the egg white swells unpleasantly. To prevent this, it can help to take the eggs out of the fridge a few minutes before cooking. This way the difference in temperature is not so big when the eggs are put into boiling water. A little salt or a shot of vinegar in the boiling water will cause the egg white to coagulate more quickly when the shell breaks and nothing will come out.

You can also prevent the shell from bursting by poking the bottom end of the egg. This is because there is a small air chamber there which expands when heated. If the air cannot escape, the egg shell may crack.

Boiling eggs for many people

For a large breakfast or brunch, where many guests and a correspondingly large quantity of boiled eggs are needed, you can easily bake them in the oven. To do this, place 1 egg in each hollow of a muffin tray and place it in the preheated oven at 175 °C top/bottom heat. The eggs are ready after 25-30 minutes, depending on how hard the yolk should be.