A hard-boiled egg is one of the first dishes a lot of cooks ever learn to make, simply because it's so easy: Put eggs in a pot with water, turn on the heat until the water is boiling. Let them go for a while so they're hard rather than soft boiled, then take them out. Maybe rinse them in cold water so they're easier to peel. That's the whole process, and the eggs are ready when you want them. Even with a process that easy, a lot of things can go wrong when you're making hard-boiled eggs. You could be using the wrong pot, one that's too small to hold all the eggs you want to cook. The Kitchn says boiling your eggs in cramped real estate ensures they don't cook at the same temperature, and as a result, all come out in different stages of doneness. You wouldn't think it, but a problem also arises when you try to use eggs that are too fresh, because doing that means your eggs will be that much harder to peel, as the whites become more bonded to the shell. Then there are the times when you find a green ring around the egg yolk. You might think that's okay, but chefs disagree.
You probably haven't even noticed if you've been eating your hard boiled eggs the same way all your life, but you may be overcooking them if there's a dark ring around the yolk and a weird texture. Brooklyn restaurateur and brunch specialist Nick Korbee told Insider,
"Overcooking hard-boiled eggs results in what I call the 'Death Star Effect.' This is where the egg is so abused by boiled water that it comes out looking like the imposing gray symbol of the Evil Empire. Not only are these eggs hard to look at, but the texture of the yolk is dry and chalky, and the flavor is something akin to the overly-sulfuric aroma of chronic flatulence. PLEASE DON'T DO THIS TO YOUR EGGS."
There's some disagreement among chefs about water temperature; Korbee, for one, believes you should put eggs in already-boiling water, while The Kitchn and others recommend the eggs go in cold water to keep the eggs from cracking. But most agree that eggs should be placed in an ice bath as soon as they are retrieved from the pot to cool them down as soon as possible. It stops the cooking and makes peeling easier.
And the most important tip - that big mistake you’re making, no matter what method you use to cook your eggs, according to Korbee?
"Please don't wing it. Use a timer."
For him that means a nine-minute boil for a creamy-textured yolk that's a brilliant yellow, and 11 minutes for deviled eggs.
Different cooking times can give you different types of boiled eggs. Like The Kitchn, The Stay at Home Chef recommends sliding eggs into cold water, making sure the eggs have about an inch of water on top, then turning the heat on high to bring the water and eggs to a rapid boil. You then cover the pan, take the pot off the heat and put it on another eye or a warmer eye if you have one, and set a timer to get the kind of eggs you want. It should be noted that some chefs recommend you turn down the heat and keep that covered pot on the same eye, but if you have too much heat going you risk the dreaded grey center. Four minutes will yield a custardy center, which gets progressively harder as time passes, and by the time you hit 12 minutes, the eggs will be well done. Whatever time you choose, remove them from the hot water and let them have a swim in an ice bath to keep them from cooking any longer.
If you've done everything right, and somehow there's still a ring around your yolk, it may have to do with your water. Mary Torell, a spokesperson for the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, told UNL Food,
"The ring is caused by a chemical reaction involving sulfur (from the egg white) and iron (from the egg yolk), which naturally react to form ferrous sulfide at the surface of the yolk. The reaction is usually caused by overcooking, but can also be caused by a high amount of iron in the cooking water."
It's safe to eat an egg with a green or gray ring, but if it isn't the water, remember your timer next time.
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