Hard Boiled Eggs

Have you ever peeled open a hard boiled egg only to find the yolk had started to turn green?  While this discoloration won't hurt the egg or have any effect on the taste, it doesn't look good.  The cause of this is over-cooking and is very easy to prevent.


First, place your eggs in a saucepan with plenty of head room (room above the eggs), like so:

Add enough cold water to cover the eggs by at least one inch:

Bring the eggs to a boil over medium heat.  As soon as the water begins to boil, remove the pan from the heat source.  Set a timer for 14 minutes.  The water is hot enough to continue slowly cooking the eggs for this time.  At the end of 14 minutes, immediately run the eggs under cold water.  As soon as they are cool enough to handle, place them in the refrigerator (if you won't be using them right away).

When you peel the eggs, what you will have is this:

Perfectly cooked eggs without any discoloration.

Another way of making them is to use a steaming basket.  Set the basket in a pan and pour water in to the bottom of the basket.  Turn the heat on high until the water boils.  Add the eggs and reduce the heat to simmer.  Put a lid on the pan and wait 14 minutes.  Then remove from heat and immediately put the eggs in cold water with plenty of ice added.  Add ice as needed to cool the eggs as quickly as possible.  Refrigerator the eggs once they have cooled.

Bon appetit!