How many minutes does it take to boil an egg in water? What happens if you boil an egg for too long?

We all know that eggs are rich in protein, minerals, vitamins, etc., with high nutritional value and simple cooking methods. They are a popular food. There are many ways to eat eggs, and boiled eggs are the most common way. There are certain requirements for boiling eggs, especially the time control. So how long does it take to cook boiled eggs? Let's take a closer look!

How long does it take to boil a hard-boiled egg?

It depends on your needs.

If you like to eat soft-boiled eggs with the yolk just starting to solidify, turn off the heat 3 minutes after the water boils; if you like to eat soft-boiled eggs with the yolk almost solidified, turn off the heat 4 minutes after the water boils; if you like to eat eggs that are just cooked, turn off the heat 5 minutes after the water boils. Do not take out the eggs immediately after turning off the heat, cover the pot and let it simmer for a while. After simmering, take out the eggs and rinse them with cold water, so that it is easier to peel the eggshell. It is not recommended to boil eggs in plain water for more than 10 minutes. After boiling the eggs for a long time, a layer of black sulfide will form on the outside of the egg yolk, which will taste hard and affect human digestion and absorption.

I personally feel that 8 to 10 minutes is the most appropriate time for most people to cook eggs. However, this time interval is quite large. During this time period, boiled eggs can be roughly divided into the "soft candy state" of 7 to 8 minutes and the "just cooked" state of about 10 minutes.

How to make boiled eggs

First, boil a pot of water, then put the eggs into the boiling water one by one with a spoon, then turn the heat to medium, keep the water boiling, cover and cook. How long to cook it? The following is the key point, please remember.

Start timing from the moment the egg is placed in the boiling water. One minute is half done, two minutes is half done, three minutes is half done, four minutes is four done, five minutes is five done, six minutes is six done, seven minutes is seven done, eight minutes is eight done, nine minutes is nine done, and ten minutes is ten done. This is how to boil eggs of normal size. If the egg is relatively small, such as a newborn egg, the time can be reduced by one or two minutes; if the egg is relatively large, the time can be increased by one or two minutes. (One thing to note here is that the water must completely cover the egg.)

What are the tips for hard-boiled eggs?

1. It is best to take the eggs out of the refrigerator in advance and let them recover to a certain temperature before cooking. This way, the time calculation will be more accurate. If you must cook them directly from the refrigerator, it is best to put them in cold water, otherwise the cold eggshell will easily crack when it comes into contact with boiling water.

2. If you are only boiling one or two eggs for yourself, don't add too much water. Just enough to cover more than half of the eggs. If there is too much water, the eggs will float up and down when boiling, and the eggshells will keep hitting the bottom of the pot. If the water is boiling, the eggshells will break early, and you will probably end up with a pot of egg drop soup with shells.

3. If you don't have any experience, it is best to take out the cooked eggs and soak them in cold water immediately. First of all, this can stop the eggs from becoming more cooked in time, and you can accurately get the ideal state you want; secondly, the sudden cooling after cooking can make it easier to peel the eggs. After the sudden cooling, the edible part of the egg shrinks faster than the eggshell, so the two are easier to separate.

4. It is best to start peeling the egg from the round end. The rounder side is the "air chamber" of the egg, which is used to store gas for the future chicks to breathe. Starting from the air chamber end can quickly discharge the gas inside, allowing a better gap to appear between the egg white and the eggshell, making it easier to peel.