Dumb Question I know... How do you boil eggs without them cracking?

Answer 1

Drop them in boiling water.

Answer 2

A boiled egg cracks when the air inside expands too fast with the heat creating too much pressure for the shell. This can be made worse by taking eggs straight from the fridge. There are different ways round this .... keep eggs in a cool place but no need to keep them in the fridge.
1/ try putting the egg into cold water and bringing it to the boil slowly then when it boils, depending on the size of the egg, time it on gentle simmer for 3-4 mins for soft boiled and runny yolk or 8-10 for hard boiled. As you heat it slowly you will see tiny air bubbles come out of the shell without breaking it.
Method 2/ Get a fine pin and gently pierce a tiny way in to the fatter end of the shell, (where the air pocket usually is) before lowering gently into already boiling water. Then time straight away. You will see the air bubbles coming out of the hole you have made. If you pierce too deeply you will break the internal membrane and the egg white may come out.
Hope this helps

Answer 3

There's a great cookbook titled "Eggs and Cheese" from The Good Cook/Techniques and Recipes series. It's an old cookbook though so I don't know where you can find it or if they even sell the book nowadays. But it's got a page dedicated entirely to the method and technique of boiling eggs including pictures of how the inside of the egg looks like at different number of minutes that you boil them in the water (gradations of boiling)... you couldn't go wrong with help like that.

To summarize though it goes like this: (Note: time the eggs from the moment water starts to bubble)
after 3 mins - for whites that are partially set and a yolk thats still liquid
after 4 mins - white is frimly set and so is most of the yolk though the center is still soft and dark yellow
after 6 mins - white and yolk are firmly set but center of yolk is still tender
after 10 mins -yolk and white firmly set and yolk is pale yello in color. If boied more than 10 mins, white will get rubbery, yolk crumbly and a greenish ring will appear between the two.

When boiling the egg, keep the water simmering gently; vigorous boiling will not only overcook the outside of the white and make it leathery and tough, the agitation of the boiling water will also increase the risk of the eggs cracking against each other. Start by placing the eggs in cold water which should then be brought to a simmer over medium heat. This technique minimizes the danger of the eggs shells cracking through a sudden change of temperature at the start of the cooking while the relatively gentle heat makes for more tender whites.

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

A) Make sure the eggs are not too cold, remove from the fridge at least an hour before cooking
B) Place in your pan with cool or tepid water, then turn the flame on so they warm slowly, its the "shock" of different temperatures that cause a quick crackingf in the first few seconds, that's why they crack often when dumped in already boiling water...
C) add 2 tablespoons of salt to the water before putting the eggs in it. The salt also helps to keep them from cracking.
D) you can also add a tablepoon of vinegar if you like, but the salt should be enough,
E) Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, counting from when the water has come to the boil, when it has a high boil. reduce the flame a little so they cook slowly...(it helps to keep the eggwhite from getting "rubbery")
F)Turn the flame off and allow to cool slowly until you can pick them up with your fingers without burning yourself...
With these six steps your eggs should turn out perfect.
(Make sure your eggs are not too old before you boil them).

Answer 5

Heyy its not a dumb question butt this is what i think from boiling eggs and watching my mom do it.

1. You cant just take it out of the refridgerator and put it directly in the water. You should take them out of the refridgerator and put them through warm water. Like you would when you are rinsing your hands. This gives it some time to adjust to the temperature change.

2. Do not keep the eggs boiling for too long because the pressure will make the egg expand and it will crack the egg. The air would need to get out.

Thats what I think is your problems when it comes to your eggs cracking. Hope that helped =]

Answer 6

There are two sure fire ways to get some hard boiled eggs without them cracking

1: Steam them in a steamer..

2: This is true!! Take an old towel clean and lay a layer of eggs on the towel, fold the towel over the eggs and lay another layer on top of that and so on and so on... Works every time.. Boil like you would any other time, the towel will protect your eggs, really works well when you have to do alot of eggs in a bigger pan..

Answer 7

Leave eggs out of the fridge to warm up slightly, then put them in room temp water with two tablespoons of salt for easier peeling . Bring to a boil and boil only for 5 min. turn off the heat and let the eggs cool down. In addition to no cracks in the shell your yolks will not turn grey around the edges

Answer 8

Put eggs in cold water and slowly bring to a boil. 3-5 minutes boiling time, depending on whether you want the yolks soft or hard. Then remove from heat immediately, put the saucepan in the sink and run cold water (don't put the tap on full, a steady stream of water rather than a furious spout) on them until the water in the pan is cold. Remove, dry and peel. You will find the eggs peel easier this way, too. Just put a little pressure and roll and the shells will pretty much fall off.

Answer 9

Put room temperature eggs in warm water and bring to a slow boil.. Boil for about 10 min then turn the heat off and let water cool,

Answer 10

Have the eggs at room temp. Place them in a pan of cool water with about 2 tsp of salt. Bring them to a boil, once they get to a boil turn off the flame and cover the pan. Let sit in the hot water for 20 minutes. Drain and rapid chill in ice water.