How to cook eggs

The one thing that connects them

Egg white begins to set at a lower temperature than yolk. That single fact produces the entire range: a soft-boiled egg is white set and yolk liquid, a fried egg is the same, a hard-boiled egg is both set, and scrambled eggs are both set together and stopped early.

Push either past its setting point and the proteins tighten and squeeze out water, which is why overcooked eggs are simultaneously rubbery and watery. Every egg method is therefore about stopping at the right moment, and the right moment is nearly always earlier than it looks.

Fat and dilution both soften the set. That is why a custard with cream in it is more forgiving than one with milk, and why a knob of butter stirred into scrambled eggs at the end genuinely improves the texture rather than only the flavour.

Poached

1. Use the freshest eggs you can. Old whites are watery and spread into rags, and nothing in the technique fixes that.
2. Crack the egg into a small bowl or sieve first. A sieve lets the loose outer white drain away, which is the real trick and is worth more than any swirling.
3. Bring a wide pan of water to a bare simmer, with a splash of vinegar if you like — it helps the white set marginally faster.
4. Slide the egg in from the bowl at water level. Do not drop it from a height.
5. Cook for about three minutes for a runny yolk, without stirring.
6. Lift out with a slotted spoon and rest it on kitchen paper to drain.

The other methods, briefly

Boiled

Lowered into boiling water, timed from that moment. Six minutes runny, seven jammy, eleven hard. See boiled eggs.

Fried

Medium heat for a soft even white; high heat with plenty of hot oil spooned over for a crisp-edged one. Two different eggs.

Scrambled

Low heat, constant movement, off the heat while still loose. See scrambled eggs.

Omelette

Fast, one to two minutes. See omelette.

Baked or shirred

In a dish with cream in a moderate oven, until the white is just set.

Coddled

In a covered pot in gently simmering water. Very gentle and hard to overcook.

In a custard

Diluted and set slowly. The gentlest use of the same protein. See custard.

The details that matter

• Freshness matters for poaching and hurts for peeling. A very fresh egg poaches beautifully and is almost impossible to peel when boiled.
• Room-temperature eggs cook more evenly and crack less. Cold eggs straight into boiling water often split.
• Season at the end for scrambled eggs and omelettes; salt added early has time to loosen the proteins.
• A non-stick pan and a silicone spatula make every hob method easier.
• To tell whether an egg is fresh, put it in water: it lies flat when fresh, stands on end when older, and should be discarded if it floats.
• Anyone advised to avoid raw or lightly cooked egg — and current guidance depends on how the eggs were produced — should follow the Food Standards Agency on which preparations are suitable.

Common questions