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Recipe File: Soft Boiled Eggs
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 1:00 am    Post subject: Problems? Reply with quote

I tried this Technique twice and failed both times.

In the end the last bit of peel sticks still to the Egg and hinders complete peeling without breaking the Egg.

At which point could I have messed up.
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Dilbert



Joined: 19 Oct 2007
Posts: 1304
Location: central PA

PostPosted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 12:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

....At which point could I have messed up.

perhaps at no point <g>

it is rumored that really fresh eggs can be more difficult to "peel" -
another theory says start with the eggs at room temp

for the cold water "quench" I like to use actual ice water - a bowl of cold water with a bunch of ice cubes....

and then there are some eggs that simply will _not_ cooperate even when asked nicely.....
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Michael Chu



Joined: 10 May 2005
Posts: 1654
Location: Austin, TX (USA)

PostPosted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 6:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Another tip is to use a slotted spoon to deposit each egg into the just boiled water - that prevents them from possibly cracking as you "drop" them in.
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 4:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree, you HAVE to use a spoon to lower them into the water. Otherwise you will definitely get cracked eggs, especially if the water height is 1 inch above the eggs!
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Michael Chu



Joined: 10 May 2005
Posts: 1654
Location: Austin, TX (USA)

PostPosted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 5:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Anonymous wrote:
Otherwise you will definitely get cracked eggs, especially if the water height is 1 inch above the eggs!

Ah, here freshness of the eggs makes a difference. Older eggs are less likely to crack when you have ample water because they float (due to the air pocket in the big end) and won't smack into the bottom of the pan.
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 8:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The recipe as tested didn't work for me, but a slight adaptation worked best.

Follow all instructions up to removing the pan from the heat. Turn off the burner, but leave the pan on the heat for 5 minutes. Remove eggs, shock in cold water, enjoy .

Maybe the make of my pan lets the water cool more quickly or some other reason. Whatever the reason, this slight modification worked perfectly for me. I've never managed to make soft boiled eggs that perfectly.

Also, for peeling, I gently tap with the dull side of a table knife to crack all over, then gently peel.
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 1:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If the shell is a problem, there is an easy solution, get rid of it before cooking.

This is how I do it:
1. Cut a square of plastic film about 25x25 cm
2. Cover the inside of a cup with the plastic film, spray the film with olive oil
3. Crack an egg in the cup, add salt and pepper to taste
4. Carefully make a small package and tie the edges with some thread (I have used dental floss)
5. Boil the egg 5 to 7 min.
6. Without pinching the egg, cut the thread and remove the egg from the plastic, sometimes it sticks, so be careful.

Ps: I learnt this technique from Jose Mari Arzak @ Restaurante Arzak in San Sebastian, Spain,
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foxteck



Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 4
Location: Mexico

PostPosted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 8:16 pm    Post subject: What's that! Reply with quote

Just out of curiosity what's under the egg in this picture:

http://www.cookingforengineers.com/pics3/640/ND2_6234_LR.jpg

Looks yummy :-)
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Michael Chu



Joined: 10 May 2005
Posts: 1654
Location: Austin, TX (USA)

PostPosted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 9:58 pm    Post subject: Re: What's that! Reply with quote

foxteck wrote:
Just out of curiosity what's under the egg in this picture:

http://www.cookingforengineers.com/pics3/640/ND2_6234_LR.jpg

Looks yummy :-)

It's a hash brown patty (from Trade Joe's).
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jimbo
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 2:56 pm    Post subject: soft boiled eggs Reply with quote

Wouldn't you have to figure in the elevation at which the eggs are being cooked to determine the amount of time to cook them?
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Isaac Lin
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 4:02 am    Post subject: Cooling eggs after cooking Reply with quote

For hard-boiled eggs, quenching them immediately helps prevent the yolk from getting a greenish tinge on their surface (resulting from a reaction between sulfur from the white and iron in the yolk).
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gamer39
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 1:05 pm    Post subject: Eggs hard to peel Reply with quote

You can add cream of tarter to the water before boiling and it will make the new (fresh) eggs easier to peel.
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Abrandnewcook
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 7:08 pm    Post subject: Altitude? ..for cooking eggs? Reply with quote

A couple of viewers brought up 'altitude' ... which begs the question: "What altitude is recommended for best results?" (note: I live in a split-level home ... the stove is on the upper level.)
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Michael Chu



Joined: 10 May 2005
Posts: 1654
Location: Austin, TX (USA)

PostPosted: Fri Nov 07, 2008 7:22 am    Post subject: Re: Altitude? ..for cooking eggs? Reply with quote

Abrandnewcook wrote:
A couple of viewers brought up 'altitude' ... which begs the question: "What altitude is recommended for best results?" (note: I live in a split-level home ... the stove is on the upper level.)

Altitude affects cooking because air pressure is reduced at high altitudes. With a reduction of air pressure comes a lowering of the boiling point of water which will reduce the maximum temperature that water in an unsealed container can be brought to (and thus how much a food cooks in a given amount of time). The difference between ten to twenty feet (an indeed a few hundred feet) will not make much of a difference. However, being 5,000 ft above sea level will affect your ability to replicate a recipe that was developed for use at or near sea level.
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gigelus2k3
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 12:43 am    Post subject: soft-boiled eggs Reply with quote

A couple of comments.

First, it's really a bad idea to put the eggs straight from the fridge in the boiling water. Most "commercial" eggs will crack. Drilling a small hole in the shell may do the trick, though.

Second, the optimum time period to get a runny yolk (just a pinch thickened is best) and a solid while is very narrow. The most forgiving method is the one in which one brings the eggs to a boil, then immediately turns off the heat and waits a certain time.

Third, whatever the method, the timing depends on so many factors (heat level and type, water quantity, egg count, egg size, atmospheric pressure) that one must not trust someone else's time and instead experiment on his/her own setup.

Everytime I moved, I had to recalibrate the method. However, for me the struggle is over: about two years ago a stumbled upon an egg cooker, a simple electric gadget that controls the timing by how long it takes a calibrated amount of water to evaporate completely. It's very easy and with perfectly consistent results.

Alternately, I remember reading in a cookbook about the fact that temperature at which the yolk hardens is about 5-6*C higher than of the white (which is 70*C?). Therefore, one can get perfect soft-boiled eggs by controlling the water temperature at a point between the two and keeping the egg at that temperature long enough for the white to harden.
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