How to boil eggs
Start egg timerHere is what to do before the egg goes in the water and after the alarm goes, and answers to what many people ask. The timer works out the time itself.
Before you start
You need a pot with enough water to cover the eggs, and the water should be at a rolling boil before the egg goes in.
Take the egg straight from the fridge, or let it sit out of the carton for at least 2 hours, and choose the same in the timer. If you start in cold tap water, use a small pot with the water just over the eggs, turn the stove to the highest normal setting, and use no lid or boost.
Afterwards: cooling and peeling
Put the egg straight into cold water when the alarm goes: 1 minute for soft-boiled and creamy, 2 minutes for jammy, and until cold for firm and hard-boiled.
That stops the cooking, and firm and hard-boiled eggs become easier to peel. For firm and hard-boiled eggs, tap the egg on the counter, roll it and peel it under running water. Soft-boiled, creamy and jammy eggs are soft: tap them lightly, don't roll them, and peel them gently.
Eggs in the mountains
Higher up, water boils at a lower temperature, so the egg needs longer: a soft-boiled medium (53–63 g) egg from the fridge in boiling water gets 5 minutes and 30 seconds at 1,000 m, compared with 5 minutes at 0 m.
Perfect Eggs began as frustration on a cabin trip above 1,000 m, where the eggs didn't turn out like at home. We can't promise good weather on the cabin trip, but we hope to help your egg turn out the way you like it, even up in the mountains.
Questions about egg cooking time
How long should an egg boil?
It depends on how firm you want the egg, the size, whether it comes straight from the fridge, and the altitude. A medium (53–63 g) egg straight from the fridge takes 5 minutes to be soft-boiled and 10 minutes and 30 seconds to be hard-boiled, in boiling water at sea level. The times are calculated. Make your own choices in the timer, and it works out the time.
How long should an egg boil from cold water?
Choose Cold under Water at the start. Put the eggs in cold tap water, turn the stove to the highest normal setting and tap Start right away. Don't use a lid or boost. The time is worked out for a small pot on induction, and is usually a few minutes longer than in recipes that count from when the water boils. If the egg must be cooked all the way through, boiling water is more predictable. Check that the yolk is firm all the way through.
Does the alarm ring when the screen is locked?
We can't promise that, on iPhone or on Android. Leave the screen on, and the alarm rings here. The app asks the phone to keep the screen on, and tells you if it can't.
Can I eat a soft-boiled egg?
A soft-boiled, creamy, jammy or firm egg isn't fully cooked. The advice depends on where you live and where your eggs come from. In the US, the FDA advises cooking eggs until both the yolk and the white are firm, or using pasteurized eggs for a softer egg. In the UK, the FSA says eggs with the British Lion mark or from the Laid in Britain scheme can be eaten runny, also by anyone pregnant, young children and older people, but not by people who are severely immunocompromised. In Norway, Nordic eggs sold in cartons can be eaten soft-boiled, according to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. Elsewhere, follow the advice where you live.
How we calculate the cooking time
The times are worked out with a physical model of how long the heat takes to reach the yolk. Altitude is included, because water boils at a lower temperature higher up. We show the whole calculation.