dippy egg

[b13thy]

how do i cook the perfect soft boiled egg. I am very fussy when it comes to eating them and like them to be well done with the yolk being firm but dippy at the same time. I have tried various methods and none seen to yield the correct result - help :)

[winemaker]

Place egg in saucepan, cover with cold water, bring slowly to boil, boil vigorously for 3 mins, strain off hot water, place saucepan with egg, under cold water tap, run cold water for 2-3 mins, remove egg from cold water, allow to rest for 10 mins--- cut top off egg, season , add a small knife tip of butter, mix together inside shell !! ------------enjoy !!!

[Chillum]

Surely a crucial point has to be the starting temperature of the egg. Timing must differ between an egg stored at room temp., and one straight from the fridge. I can never get this consistantly right either.

[Kim A]

I find a large egg, at room temperature, takes four and a half minutes at a gentle boil - not quite a boil, but more than a simmer. Chillum is right - the starting temperature of the egg makes a lot of difference - not least because the egg always seems to burst or crack open if you try and cook it from cold. I believe this has something to do with the expansion of air in the little pocket between the inner membrane of the egg and the shell - I really hate it when that happens!

[patsyann]

I find that even with an egg straight from the fridge two spent matches in the water stops eggs bursting. It never fails me.Picked up the tip years ago.

[shaneystar2]

Or you can buy an egg pricker which will prick a hole in the egg to stop it bursting.
http://www.cookability.biz/b_364.htm
Apparently if you boil an egg while singing all five verses and chorus of the hymn,"'Onward Christian Soldiers" it while come out perfectly !!

[halfadaily]

I always prick both ends of the egg with a sharp point, this prevents cracking. Adding to a pan of boiling water, I find that this takes 5 minutes to get a perfect dippy egg.

Any tips on poached eggs? Mine always seem to turn into something from a science fiction film in the pan.

[potski205]

Apparently a drop of vinegar in the water should keep the poached egg together. Also, when you add the egg to the water, create a little whirlpool and add the egg to the middle.

[halfadaily]

Thanks potski, I'll try that

[JamesEverton]

potski is dead right. The vinegar causes the albumen to solidify quicker and the whirlpool keeps the egg together. It might also be worthwhile breaking the egg into a cup rather than doing it straight into the pan.

The only down side to this method is that I haven't found a way of doing more than one egg in the same pan at the same time.

[WendyS]

I store our eggs at room temperature, put them in cold water and bring gently to the boil. Boil for three and a half minutes. The white is firm but the yolk is just gently "dippy". When I kept eggs in the fridge, they often burst while the water was coming up to boiling point. I always prick one end first with one of those little egg pricking gadgets which also helps to prevent the shells bursting.

On the topic of poached eggs, mine were always a disaster when poached in water. Now we have one of those marvellous microwave egg poachers from Lakeland and a "nuked" egg poaches perfectly in one minute 15 seconds.

[halfadaily]

.....and thanks also James, I'm looking forward to perfect poached eggs for lunch tommorow.

[Narolines]

James is right - break the egg into a cup or something similar first so that you can drop it straight in once you've got the water swirling at speed. If you have to mess about cracking the egg and easing the shell apart over the pan the "whirlpool" will have slowed down too much and you get a messy egg!

[ShellyHall]

Place egg in pan with cold water and a little salt. Bring to the boil, put pan lid on and turn off the heat. Leave for 3 - 3� minutes. Remove lid - remove egg - ENJOY!

By the time you've tried all the different suggestions you'll be sick of boiled eggs!

[tell-me-more]

I'd definitely recommend poaching eggs over boiling them if you want it runny. I've never managed to create a vortex to keep the egg together, so I recommend breaking it into a cup first and then pouring into a very small pan with just enough water, tilted to one side. That stops the white from spreading and going all over the place and timing's quite easy, because you can see when it's done.

I'm off to poach a couple of eggs now.

[crisgal]

I saw Delia do this a long time ago, and it works every time. Boil up some water in a lerge frying pan or saute pan - about 1-2" deep.

Break your eggs in, as many as you can fit in if you want. Then simmer for one minute.

Take the pan off the heat, put on a lid and leave them alone for ten minutes.

I know it sounds wierd but it really does work. Firm whites and dippy yolks.No messing about with vinegar or vortexes (vortexii?).

There's no panic, no guesswork, and plenty of time to get your tea and toast ready. Gawd bless 'er

[crisgal]

if you haven't got a lerge pan - they are incredibly difficult to get these days - a large one will do!

[halfadaily]

Hi crisgal. The plural of vortex is vortices. Thought I'd let you know. Mind you I had to look it up.

[hawky]

Get a medium size well-chilled egg from the fridge. Bring a pan of water to the boil. While doing this place the egg in a mug of warm tap water. You'll need to freshen the warm mug water once while your pan is coming to the boil as it cools. The purpose of this is to start the white congealing, while the yolk remains cold. When the pan is at a rapid boil, turn down the heat & place in the eggs (they shouldn't crack as the warm egg suffers less thermal shock than a cold egg). Boil gently for *exactly* 4 minutes. Your white should be firm and the yolk runny. Add or remove a few seconds depending on just how runny you like the yolk.

[clairey-s]

doesnt anyone just use an eggy-poachy-thingy? u know those that hang over pans?

[Bob A Job]

Diverting back to the original 'Boiled egg' part of this question.....
Gentle stirring for the first minute will ensure your egg yoke is in the centre of the egg and not stuck to the side. And a little salt in the water should stop the egg from bouncing around as much in the pan and cracking.