Does anyone know how to keep an egg from exploding in the pot when you're trying to boil it?

Question

I'm thinking there must be some trick to keeping the egg from cracking and spilling it's guts and mixing in with the boiling water...

Answer 1

Always place the eggs into the pot first.Do so gently to avoid cracking them.Add warm water next.Warm water will not over excite the cold shell molecules too quickly.Place the pot on the heat source.Don't use a rolling boil but one just above a simmer.I like my HB egges a little soft so I only doo them for 8-9 minutes,drain then run cold water over them.That makes them easier to peel later.
Don't cook them too long.If you see hints of green around the yolk that means you've over cooked them.Over cooking any protein source denatures the protein(folds and cross links the amino acids) rendering much of the protein useless and unable to be assimilated or metabolized in your body.The protein in eggs is albumin and has a very high biological value.
Sometimes it helps to tap the end of the egg with a spoon or knife once they've finished.This makes them extremely easy to peel.

Answer 2

Start with cold water and then put the egg in the pan gently. Turn the burner on medium or medium high. When the water starts to boil, time it 4 minutes and then take it off the burner. Let it sit in the pan for a minute or two ( a hard boiled egg is supposed to boil 5 minutes). If your egg still cracks and gets into the water, it's an old egg. It's just something to live with when you buy eggs from a grocery store. Fresh eggs don't do that.

Answer 3

DO NOT put the egg in cold water, you wont be able to peel it without damaging the whites. The membrane that's between the egg white and the shell will get cooked into the white.

Bring water to boil then turn it down to medium-low until there is only a one or two small bubbles. Use a spoon to gently lower the egg in to the pot. Then turn the stove back to a medium-high to bring to a boil again. All you need is a gentle rolling boil, it doesn't need to be full fledged splatter everywhere boil.

Answer 4

Yeah, this is the best way.

Put the eggs in a pot with hot water, and as soon as it comes to a rolling boil, turn off the heat and cover the pot. Leave it for 15 minutes and you will have perfect, fully cooked eggs everytime!

Answer 5

Be gentle when you put the eggs in the pot. Add water and only boil for 5 min. It sounds like your over cooking them or adding them to boiling water. Drain water and add ice cubes. This will make peeling the egg easier.

Answer 6

First of all, don't bring the water to a vicious boil. It should be a low bubble, and you can gently place the egg in just a bit before it starts to simmer like that.

If that doesn't work, take a needle or pin & prick a teeny hole down into the less round end of the egg, the pointier end. You'll be fine! Best wishes :)

Answer 7

You need to put it in the pot while the water is still cold. Because the heat of the boiling water against the cooler temperature of the egg makes it burst.

Answer 8

I learned this from a chef who taught me a lot about cooking. Take a very sharp safety pin or any other sharp, thin pin and poke a hole in the larger end of the egg. (not the point of the egg) Allowing the air to escape keeps pressure from building inside the egg and keeps it from exploding. Works every time for me.

Answer 9

You want to put the eggs into the water when it's cold. The reasoning behind this is that there is a small air bubble inside the egg, and if it is dropped into hot water, the air heats too quickly, causing cracking of the shell...If the air is given time to warm up slowly, it won't be so violent.

Answer 10

a trick that I learned from a TV cooking show.. on the flat end of the egg, (the bottom) put a tiny pin hole in it so it won't the egg won't crack or explode when boiling them.

Works great :)