How To Boil Water.. & Make Eggs In The Meanwhile..

Some say eggs are the perfect source of protein-- ideal in their ratio of all essential amino acids.

'Perfect', though, should really just be reserved for things like.. gifts, to be polite, or perhaps special moments that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. With food it's slightly different. Have you ever heard of the term 'superfood'? Blueberries, almonds, avocado, salmon.. As if those foods have magical powers or something. Sure, they may have nutritional benefits but there's no such thing as 'perfect'; moreover all foods can fit in a 'healthy' diet.

In any case, perfect or not, eggs are nonetheless pretty great [in my non-vegan opinion]. So versatile. Scrambled, fried, poached, souffled, baked, steamed, and, one of my favorites, boiled. Hard or soft? Barely hard, verging on soft, thank you.

There are a zillion different methods people have come up with to make what seems very so simple. Complications, or points or variations, include:

Type of pot

Amount of water

Number of eggs

Size of eggs

Level of heat

Eggs in water then boil? or Boil water then add eggs?

Cover or no cover?

Length of cooking time

Preference of egg consistency is also a factor.

In sum, there is no right, or 'perfect', recipe for boiled eggs. What it comes down to is simply trial and error to meet your expectations. Here's mine anyway..

I fill a mini pot about 2/3 full of tepid water-- whatever comes out of the faucet the second it runs. I carefully drop in three extra large eggs, which don't end up being fully covered by the water. I turn on the heat to about 6:30-7 o'clock-- high, yet low enough that the fire won't melt the handle of my pot [remember, it's small; and yes, large flames will do that..]. No cover-- don't need another thing to wash.

I set the timer for 14 minutes, after which I dump out the hot water, and transfer the eggs to another bowl with cold water. [Using the same pot would give me one less thing to wash but it's too hot and just wastes water..]. I change the cold water a couple of times, as the eggs heat it up quickly, but only until I can handle peeling. I hit all around the midsection of the egg against the bottom of my kitchen sink and peel around the equator; ideally, then, the top and bottom shell will come off in one piece. I rinse the peeled egg in warm water [as there's nothing worse than eating egg shells.. well there are worse things, but still..], shake it dry, and proceed with the rest. I don't add salt to many things-- eggs are an exception. I pretty much only like the Diamond Crystal brand, though, because of its fine grain. Picky.

My perfect [oops] egg has a pretty soft, silky white...


...and really moist, yet intact yolk.

[Not the prettiest pic of an egg. I ate the top before I realized I needed a snap. Oops.].
But nonetheless...

Delish.