OT; Perfect boiled eggs

The Medway Handyman · 2009-07-05T11:55:52+00:00

I do like a nice soft boiled egg with soldiers. Known as a 'dippy' egg around here.Someone bought me a Lakeland egg boiler as a biffday pressie video demo explains how it works, but.Interesting idea. Consists of a water tray with heater at the bottom, a rack to hold up to 7 eggs and a cover with a small (6mm?) hole in the top.Idea is that a 'specified' amount of water is placed in the water tray, the egg(s) placed in the rack, the lid put on & the heater switched on. When all the water in the tray has boiled away a signal sounds and the egg(s) are ready.Heater output is fixed, the variable is the amount of water that goes into the tray. So far, so good.A small measuring beaker is supplied with 3 scales etched into the sides for hard, medium & soft boiled eggs. Each of these scales is subdivided 1-7 for the number of eggs to be boiled.The 'hard' scale is higher up the side of the beaker than the 'medium' scale, which is higher up than the 'soft' scale.Makes sense. The more water used, the longer it takes to boil away, the more the egg is cooked. Logical Captain.What I can't work out is the 1-7 scales. In each case the 1 egg mark is higher up than the 7 egg scale, so it indicates that 1 egg requires more water to cook than 7 eggs would?I'm confused by this, its counter intuitive. Surely 7 eggs take more heat to cook than 1 egg?E-mailed Lakeland and they confirm the scales are running the right way.Can anyone explain the science behind this?

Jul 05, 2009 45 Replies

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john royce 17 years ago

I'd be very interested in learning about how to do the perfect scrambled eggs !

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Chris J Dixon 17 years ago

For me, perfect = soft and creamy. To achieve this, use a good thick-bottomed pan, apply gently heat, and keep stirring with a wooden paddle. For quite a while it seems nothing happens, then it starts to thicken and solidify quite fast.

Take it off the heat whilst it is still just a little more fluid than you want it, as the internal heat keeps it cooking whilst you are serving.

Enjoy.

Chris

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The Natural Philosopher 17 years ago

Microwave.

Whisk with milk, full power for about 5-8 minutes.

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Ian White 17 years ago

Heston Blumenthal has a method involving microwaves, liquid nitrogen and CERN.

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Appelation Controlee 17 years ago

Ah, so that's what it is. I've been blaming the hens for years.

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Appelation Controlee 17 years ago

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Are you sure that it should be the "pointy" end of the egg? I thought there was an air-filled void at the big end.

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