Forum: cooking.stackexchange.com
Tags: <eggs><boiling><soft-boiled-eggs>
Title: How to soft boil an egg
Question: Is there a fool proof way to make sure the white of the egg is set but either all or some of the yolk remains runny?

Answers:
sents: text: Very few people have tried a perfectly cooked soft boiled egg.
text: There is a tradition among chefs of trying to show each other how perfectly they can cook something as simple as an egg.
text: Chef Fernand Point , who serves as inspiration for the affable chef Gusteau in Pixar’s animated movie Ratatouille, would test his apprentices by asking them to fry an egg.
text: With a responsive thermometer, such an infrared one, you can approximate their work at home.
text: If you ever get that mad scientist feeling, try cooking the egg in a bowl of water placed in the oven.
text: Start with cold tap water in the bowl, place the eggs in the water and the ensemble in an oven set to its lowest setting.
text: Every five minutes, check the temperature of the water in the bowl.
text: If you are using an infrared thermometer, stir the water before measuring.
text: Let the water hover between 65°C to 68°C for an hour.
text: In most ovens you will have to turn the oven off and on to keep the water in that range.
text: The result will be a bright yellow firm gel.
text: I have a picture of the gel for the fried version of the mad scientist egg (what I call Eggs
text: Mondrian ):
text: If you want the yolk runny, then the temperature of the water should be between 63°C (to cook the whites) but below 66°C to keep the yolk runny.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/183/papin
score: 13
sents: text: Read this article for complete scientific explanation of the process:
text: Towards the perfect soft boiled egg
text: The most important part is this formula: which with boiling water (100C) and a refrigerated egg (4C) results in these plots: so depending on
text: exactly how soft you want your egg and how large it is, you might want a cooking time anywhere from 4 to 6 minutes.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/181/Cornelius
score: 6
sents: text: Cook the egg in already boiling water for 4 minutes and remove.
text: Hack off (more like tap)
text: the top of the shell with your spoon, add some sea salt, and dunk in slender pieces of toast until you have consumed all of the egg deliciousness.
text: If the egg is cold from the fridge, put it in the pan with the water as you bring to a boil; if the egg is room temperature (better), drop it into the already boiling water.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/310/MRJ
score: 4
sents: text: Like you, I love a runny yolk and hate a white that isn't set!
text: I've been experimenting with the soft-boiled egg a few mornings per week for the past couple of years, and have discovered the following: I like a 5-minute egg; the 4-minute egg is, by my lights, underdone and icky.
text: Barometric pressure does have an impact on how fast water boils and how quickly it boils away!
text: "Soft-boiled" eggs should actually be called "simmered eggs," because you DON'T want a hard, full-rolling boil.
text: To make a perfect soft-boiled egg: Remove your egg/s from the fridge and set them on the counter.
text: Bring salted water to a boil.
text: Put the egg/s into the boiling water.
text: Boil gently for exactly 5 minutes, no more, no less.
text: Plunge into cold water for about 5 seconds. Eat immediately!
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/359/goblinbox
score: 3
sents: text: I get ideal results from putting the eggs in boiling water and then turning off the heat.
text: Start the timer.
text: I find 6-8 minutes is perfect, while up to 10 can produce good results.
text: Once the time is up, pour out the hot water and replace with cold water.
text: This helps both peeling, and to slow down the carry-over.
text: The whites are solid but not rubbery, and the longer time benefits a creamy, orange center.
text: It takes longer, but the results are really tasty.
text: Note:
text: use enough water in a big enough pot so that the number of eggs doesn't overly change the water temperature, otherwise the timing will vary.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/1443/Ocaasi
score: 2
sents: text: You can buy an egg boiler for cooking the eggs.
text: Example:
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/None/
score: 2

Summary of the answers:
You can buy an egg boiler to cook the eggs, or simmer gently for 4-5 minutes. Cooking in water between 63-66°C will also produce runny eggs.
There are differences of opinion on the correct temperature and time to boil the perfect egg. 4-5 minutes in gently boiling water should work. If all else fails, try buying an egg boiler.