Saturday, April 23, 2011

A Good Egg


As I'm writing this post, I have eggs on the stove in preparation for the BYOE party tomorrow night. And that started me thinking about writing about eggs.

A couple weeks ago, I walked into the kitchen where Hubby was preparing a salad for dinner, and on the stove was a small pot with two eggs boiling in about an inch of water. "What are you doing?," I asked him. "Hard boiling eggs for the salad," he replied. Well, I don't know ALL the ways to boil eggs, and I know there are several methods, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't one of them. Still, I could be wrong, so I held my tongue and didn't offer any advice--because it annoys him and he never takes it anyway. "How long do you cook them?," I asked. "I dunno. For a few minutes," he told me.

A little while later, I heard Hubby in the kitchen, talking to himself about the eggs. When I asked what was wrong, he told me that the first egg wasn't quite cooked. I'm not sure what happened to the second egg, but it wasn't in our salad.

When I was young, my mom taught me to boil eggs by putting them in a pan, covering them (about an inch over the tops) with room temperature water, bringing the water to a boil, and then covering the pot and turning off the heat. Wait 22 minutes and they're done. Since that time, I've always cooked them that way and I've never had any eggs undercooked or overcooked. How about you? What method do you use?

I also read on the internet today that to get the deepest color when dyeing eggs, it's best to wipe them with vinegar first before putting them in the color bath. I mentioned this tip to a friend and she told me she always cooks her eggs with a couple tablespoons of vinegar in the water. Needless to say, I'm planning to be the egg dyeing party queen tomorrow night, and with that in mind, I'll ask you: Do you have any other tips? What do you like to do when it comes to eggs and egg dyeing?

14 comments:

Pat V. said...

When I was a kid, we had a big Easter egg hunt at Grandma's. When you got too old to hunt with the little kids, you got to dye and hide the eggs. After the eggs were dyed, my grandmother would have us wipe the eggs with a cloth that had a little crisco on it. That made them nice and shiny!

Anonymous said...

Oh wow...I don't have a method...but probably tend to over boil, because I don't want them not cooked. I'll try your idea next time.

Have lots of fun at your egg dying party! =)

Robin said...

I'm pretty sure Hubby did not come up with an edible hard-boiled egg, LOL! I use your method, but just let them sit for 18 minutes, then dump off hot water and throw in cold water with ice cubes. For easiest-to-peel eggs, don't use ones you just bought that same day...if they are a couple of days old, they peel better. I use vinegar in my food coloring bath. That's the extent of my egg knowledge!

Kathy said...

Well, I guess I'm in hubby's camp on this one. I always start my eggs with cold water so they don't crack, and then boil 20 minutes, then pour off the hot water and let them sit in cold water. They always taste fine to me! I guess I should try your method, though - it is probably easier.

Lisa at Sun Naturals said...

Thanks for sharing how you cook your eggs. I always lose a few to cracking but your method might fix that!

Denise in PA said...

It was so funny to read this and I am, right this very minute, hard boiling my eggs using the exact method you describe - down to the 22 minutes -LOLOL!

Have a wonderful party!

Josie McRazie said...

We love to colour eggs! My kids do it every year with Granny Kim! We like to write messages on them with white crayons so when you dye them there is writing on the egg!!
I was taught the same way to do my eggs, bring to boil, remove from heat, cover and let set 20 min, cover w/ cold water...perfect every time!!
Have a splendid BYOE party!! Happy Easter!!

Paula said...

I cook my eggs the same way, except I cook them for 12 minutes. I suppose we like soft boiled eggs! :)

dianne said...

my egg dyeing tip ... save newspapers for a week and cover Every Horizontal Surface cuz there will be SPILLAGE and SPLASHAGE

i USED to cover eggs with cold, salted water and bring them to a boil for 15 minutes, then run cold water over them till the pan is cold ... but NOW i cover them with cold, salted water and bring to a boil, turn off the heat and let them sit there for 20 minutes (or till i remember that i was boiling eggs) and run cold water over them till the pan is cold ... i think i learned that on a cooking show ... but not the grammar - that is all my own and i can picture you covering your eyes to shield them from the horror of all those verb tenses

Unknown said...

My mom taught me to color eggs by softening yellow onion skins in water and wrapping a raw egg with them, then tie string all around the egg to hold the skins on and boil them in water with vinegar. When these are unwrapped, they are beautiful and each one is different. I forgot to save onion skins ahead this year so, no marbled eggs. Try it, it's a kick. Carline

Anonymous said...

The only way I know how to cook eggs is in an electric egg cooker. Never did it any other way - so thanks for info when my egg cooker stops working.
Clare

Marla said...

I sure am going to try your 22 minute method as my other methods are sure hit and miss! My biggest problem is getting the shells off. Sometimes they are easy and sometimes not. Thanks for the tips!

Bonny said...

Rachel Ray says to bring eggs to boil - then put a lid on the pan, shut the heat off and let sit for 10 minutes. I have used her method for years now and they are perfectly boiled. So you don't have to wait 22 minutes...

Nancy said...

I miss dyeing eggs this year...the Son is the only one left at home and he won't eat hard-boiled eggs and he won't let me hide them either...silly 19 year old!!
My favorite part of dyeing eggs is putting the last egg in every dang color and getting what we called "the brown egg"...Who ever found it got a special prize...