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How to Boil an Egg Perfectly Every Time

Boiling an egg may not be rocket science, but timing is important because the trick to perfectly cooked eggs is actually NOT to boil the eggs at all. Here are some simple guidelines for cooking soft-, medium-, and hard-cooked eggs.

by Allison Ehri Kreitler

Watch our Test Kitchen video to learn how to time your cooking to get perfectly soft-, medium-, or hard-cooked eggs.

Getting started

Put the eggs in a saucepan and add enough cold water to cover them by about 1 inch. Set the pan over medium-high heat and as soon as the water reaches a brisk simmer, start timing. As the eggs cook, adjust the heat as needed to maintain a brisk simmer. (Though we talk about hard-boiled eggs—and we’re using that term here—the fact is that cooking eggs in boiling water cracks the shell and makes the eggs tough and rubbery. A simmer works much better.)

From Fine Cooking's Test Kitchen: Watch our How to Boil an Egg video to see an expert turn out soft-, medium-, and hard-cooked eggs without overcooking them.

Soft boiled: 2 minutes The white is solid, but the yolk is still runny. Serve in an egg cup for breakfast. Use the side of a small spoon to crack and remove the pointed end of the egg, making a hole in the shell large enough to fit the spoon. Or use egg scissors, if you have them.

Medium boiled: 4-1/2 minutes The yolk is solid but still dark orange-yellow, moist, and dense in the middle. Beautiful and delicious quartered on a salad.