Hard-Boiled:
1. Gently place the raw eggs (shells and all) into a pot that is large enough that the eggs can lie flat in a single layer. This will ensure an even distribution of heat, regardless of how many eggs you’re cooking.
2. Add enough cold water to cover about an inch of each egg.
3. Place the pot on the stove and turn the burner on high. When the water starts to boil, remove the pot from the heat and cover with a lid.
4. Let large eggs sit in the hot water for about 15 minutes -- you can increase or decrease the cooking time by a few minutes depending on the size of the eggs. This long, slow cooking process makes for better texture and coloring. Too much heat makes for rubbery whites and greenish yolks -- yuck!
5. Move the pot into the sink and begin to run cold water over the eggs until they’re cool enough that you can touch them.
6. Remove the eggs and serve them warm. Or dip them into a quick ice bath to halt the cooking process, pat dry and store in the fridge to enjoy later.
Soft-Boiled:
1. Begin the same way you would to cook hard-boiled eggs.
2. But in this case, when the water starts to boil, do not remove the pot from the heat source. Instead, set a timer and let the eggs cook for about 3 minutes.
3. After the 3 minutes is up, remove the pot from the stove and transfer it to the sink. As with the hard-boiled eggs, run cool tap water over the eggs until they are cool enough to touch.
4. Serve the eggs warm -- crack with a knife to split the shell in half, and then scoop out the delicious goods inside and serve over toast. You can also serve them in an eggcup -- just peel back the top portion of the shell.
-- Paula Kashtan
Dec 17, 2010