Making perfect hard-boiled eggs every time

Recommended: The Cook’s Book

Did you know that the grey part around the yolk means that you’ve overcooked your hardboiled eggs?  Did you also know that it’s visual evidence chemical reaction that actually stripped away nutrients? I used to just let my hardboiled eggs go until they were “good and done” until I payed attention and actually looked into it.  Having kids made the change, of course.  I wanted them to have the best of everything… even the best eggs.  I’ve been extremely conscious of what nutrients and chemicals they are exposed to in their environment and food since finding out I was pregnant.  It’s one of the few things we have control of as parents.  I made most of our baby & toddler food, which I actually found was much more simple that you’d think (more on that later?).

Back to the eggs… The way I now hard-boil eggs now to get the perfect eggs every time is pretty simple.  It’s an adaptation of what I found in Jill Norman’s The Cook’s Book: Techniques and tips from the world’s master chefs.

Put the egg in a pan and submerge with about an inch of tap water — then bring to a boil.

After the water is at a full boil, set a timer for 10 minutes.

When the timer goes off, prepare a bowl of heavily iced water.  Then, turn of the head & scoop the eggs out of the water with a vented spoon and put them right into the cold bath.

Perfect eggs every time.

I still haven’t mastered easy-to-peel eggs.  The cold water helps, but perfectly-cooked eggs don’t peel as easily as over-cooked eggs.  I’ve heard fresher or older eggs can make a difference, but we have access to truly fresh eggs and also buy store-bought about half the time; I haven’t seen a difference.

Now if I could just get the girls to sit still and at least sample everything on their plates.  Ours go through egg phases where they want them every meal and then go through egg-less phases where we can’t even bribe them to eat them.  Go figure!