Karen

The Ultimate Soft Boiled Egg and Much, Much More!

Saturday morning breakfast is always pancakes and Sunday morning breakfast is always eggs. Every single Sunday!! For this reason, I have learned a lot about the art of making soft boiled eggs. Let me clarify one thing, we don't always eat Soft boiled eggs!

The Undercooked Soft Boiled Egg

The undercooked soft boiled egg was cooked for two minutes. It has a slightly cooked white with lots of uncooked white. You can see the yolk through the clear, uncooked white.

The Perfect Soft Boiled Egg

The perfect soft boiled egg is cooked for between 4.5 and 5.5 minutes. It has a fully cooked white (there is no transparency in the white). The yolk is runny and warmed.

NOTE: You need to practice to figure out how long you like your soft boiled egg cooked. This is a very sensitive subject to some people. Keep in mind that a room temperature egg and a cold (from the refrigerator) egg will cook at different speeds.

The Over Cooked Soft Boiled Egg

The overcooked egg is cooked over five minutes. It is almost a hard boiled egg but, not quite. The white is fully cooked and the yolk is half cooked. This means that the outside part of the yolk is 'completely hard boiled' and the inside is still half cooked. The part that is not completely cooked usually has a crack in it (as seen in the picture).

1

Put a pot of water on the stove to begin the water boiling.

While the water is heating, use a push pin to prick a hole in the bottom of the egg (the dull end). Do not prick the pin all the way in. You just want to make a place for the air that is in the egg at the bottom.

2

 When the water is boiling, put the egg into a spoon and lower the egg into the water. Start a timer for the desired time, between 4.5 and 5.5 minutes, and lower the heat so that the water is at a soft boil or simmer.

3
As soon as the timer goes off, turn the heat off under the pot and carefully, move the pot, using a pot holder to a sink. Using the spoon again, hold the egg under running cold water for 20-30 seconds. This will stop the cooking of the egg but will not make the inside of the egg cold.

4

 Place your egg into the egg cup of your choice. Using a butter knife, cut the top of the egg off about one half of an inch down from the top of the egg. Hold the top of the egg with your left hand and the knife with your right. Swing the knife towards the place you want to cut through. The blade will break through the egg shell but will not cut all the way through. Saw your way through the egg, finishing the process of cutting off the top of the egg.

5

 A good soft boiled egg must be eaten with all the proper condiments. With the egg, you must have orange juice, toast, butter, salt, pepper, and a spoon that IS NOT silver. If you have one, an egg warmer is also a very helpful commodity. It will keep your egg warm until you are ready to eat it.

Pictures taken by Karen and Michael Wiener