Can't boil an egg.....

[NigellaPleaseComeDineWithMe]

Seriously, youngest DS asked for egg in the special cups which I made on Saturday the boys faces were as they could not dip the soldiers into the too hard yolks.

I can cook - even entered cooking competitions, have not enoughloads (DW says too many) of cookbooks and yet the somple boil an egg task eluded me .

Whats the secret to really good boiled eggs? Can get duck eggs locally too - usually do them fried and they go down a treat - would they work OK??

I put them into cold water - just enough to cover them. Bring to the boil and wait about 4 minutes. Should be sift yolks then.

Or 10 minutes for hardboiled ones for sarnies - in which case, you need to get them cooled down rapidly to avoid the black line between white and yolk.

One of these! www.amazon.co.uk/Ashley-Colour-Changing-Perfect-Boiled/dp/B00478GF5A/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1341492372&sr=8-3

I cannot recommend them highly enough if you want a soft boiled egg just right :)

I think that because ducks are rather unhygenic birds its usually recommended that duck eggs are well cooked not softboiled.

For dippy eggs start with boiling water. Prick the flat end of the egg with an egg-pick or pin so that it doesn't burst, lower into boiling water, set timer for 4 mins. White should be set and yolk runny.

For hard-boiled eggs start with cold water. Bring to the boil then time for 6 minutes.

I use the same colour change thingie as SophiaWinters. Boil egg until the colour change has crept up to the notch below medium and job done!

use a thermometer not a timer

But buy the colour changing thing in the pound shop, not amazon!

If you start with cold water, time them for a minute and a half from when the water reaches the boil. If you put them straight in to boiling water, do so and time for 4 mins.

Or you could do Delia's way which is completely different, something about bringing to boil then turning off the heat and leaving them for 6 minutes....you could google that.

I would suggest not using duck eggs for soft bolied eggs as they are a fair bit larger so you cannot time them the same.

Just cover with cold water. Bring to the boil then turn off the heat as soon as it starts bubbling. Put a lid on the pan and leave for 4 minutes exactly (use a timer). You should have a perfect yolk. I think it's Heston's method.

The secret of perfect boiled eggs is one of these: Electric Egg Boiler. I got a German MiniChicki in the shape of a little yellow hen about ten years ago, and it completely changed my lunch life. Current model is a boring John Lewis one but even so... does the job, perfectly, every time.

JamNan I think I tried to recall what Heston did but obviously messed it up - he does tend to cook stuff on lower temps than you think you need and uses a digital thermometer (which I have too ).