In the Kitchen Series: How to make perfect hard boiled eggs
This is the first of a series of posts with the goal of making basic cooking and healthy meal prep more approachable. You don’t have to be a whiz in the kitchen to cook up healthy, delicious meals. All you need are some basic techniques and a little creativity! And if you’re still working on the creativity part, head on over to our recipe section and we’ve got you covered 😉
Here, we’re going to help demystify basic cooking techniques of some of our favorite, most nutritious, and delicious foods.
How to cook the perfect hard cooked egg (and why they’re not really “hard boiled”)
Have you ever hard-cooked eggs and wondered, where did I go wrong to end up with rubbery, smelly eggs? If so, then read on so you never make that mistake again. It’s easy to make perfectly cooked hard cooked eggs, but also easy to mess them up. The key is, they’re not really boiled! Not for more than 30 seconds to a minute anyway. Here’s what to do:
Step 1: Choose a saucepan that will allow the eggs to fit in a single layer at the bottom of the pan with 1-2 inches of water covering the eggs.
Step 2: Place the eggs in the saucepan and fill it 2/3 of the way with cold water, or until water is 1-2 inches above the top of the eggs.
Step 3: Turn heat to high and bring the water to a full boil. As SOON as it’s boiling, remove the pot from the heat, cover (important step), and set a timer for 10-12 minutes. Whether you choose 10 or 12 minutes depends on whether you like your egg slightly softer (10 minutes) or slightly harder (12 minutes).
Follow steps 1 through 3 and you’ll end up with these beauties.
Yummy ways to eat hard cooked eggs: One of our favorite ways to eat hard-cooked eggs is sliced with hummus and fresh tomato on toast. They also make a great grab-n-go snack or quick protein component to lunch. Another classic but favorite is egg salad, which you can prep ahead of time and add to a whole grain wrap, put in lettuce cups, or use atop a green salad.
Egg Nutrition Perks: Eggs deserve bragging rights in this category. One large egg contains 70 calories, 5 grams of fat, 6 grams of protein and 14 essential nutrients, including choline and vitamin D. And don’t skip the yolk all together, it’s where most of the nutrients are found. If you’re worried about eggs containing cholesterol, don’t be. Mounting research suggests that dietary cholesterol does not increase the risk of heart disease. Due to this research the American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, and 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans do not limit egg or cholesterol intake, a change from earlier guidance from these organizations. Eggs are also easy to prep, and versatile being able to be transformed into multiple types of meals.
Fun egg fact: Want to know if an egg is fresh? A fresh egg is slightly more dense than water, so it will sink. An older egg is less dense then water, so it floats. Slightly older eggs also peel more easily than fresh eggs.
