There are countless versatile foods but no ingredient can compete with the shape-shifting superpower of eggs. Whether you’re craving a super-crispy fried egg for breakfast or a savory quiche for a late-night snack the textural changes an egg can undergo are a prime example of culinary magic. One of the most popular ways to enjoy an egg is by boiling it. Whether soft-boiled hard-boiled or somewhere in between a boiled egg is the key to deviled eggs in egg salad and one of the most convenient protein-packed snacks around. Boiled eggs are actually a little unique compared to other styles because they cook in the shell.
| Channel | Publish Date | Thumbnail & View Count | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
 KQED | 2023-04-07 16:00:08 |  822,471 Views |
The Secret to Perfectly Boiled Eggs | Jacques Pépin Home Cooking | KQED
This is a problem because there are no visual cues as to how done the egg is. Luckily all you have to do to find out is spin the egg. This trick comes from celebrity chef and restaurateur Jacques Pépin. According to Pépin via Food & Wine after carefully removing the boiled egg from the water spin it on the counter. If "the egg is fully cooked it will stand upright like a spinning top. A raw egg does not spin."
You can easily try this experiment yourself the next time you make a batch of hard-boiled eggs. First grab a raw egg and spin it on your counter. It should spin very wobbly if at all. Contrast that with a hard-boiled egg which spins quickly and steadily when cooked. The physics behind this is pretty simple; when you spin a raw egg centrifugal force causes the liquid white and heavier yolk to slosh around the shell throwing everything out of balance. A hard-boiled egg on the other hand has a stable non-liquid structure and will spin without a problem.
Unfortunately this hack won’t help you distinguish between soft- and hard-boiled eggs. (That takes practice and time—about eight minutes for soft-boiled eggs ten for hard-boiled eggs.) There are plenty of other ways to make hard-boiling easier like using a steamer basket or only boiling older eggs. And as long as you’re simplifying the cooking process don’t forget to take the stress out of peeling the eggs too. Hopefully your head isn’t spinning from all these tips and tricks—save that for the eggs!
