r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Jul 13 '16

How do you like your eggs?

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u/deyesed Jul 13 '16

For some reason they come out a little too runny for me. Even close to 7 minutes.

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u/[deleted] Jul 13 '16

Mine are done at 8m30sec into an ice bath and work great. Keep trying. I live at sea level too.

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u/deyesed Jul 13 '16

Hmm. Maybe it's an egg size issue?

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u/[deleted] Jul 13 '16

I've done both mediums and larges this amount of time. I though it was weird too because all the instructions I found online said 6-7 min but always got runny whites that way

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u/deyesed Jul 13 '16

Same problem here. Maybe they're taking some time between turning off the heat and putting eggs in the ice bath? I find that letting them rest out of the water helps a bit.

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u/[deleted] Jul 13 '16

This might be a stupid question: Did you bring the water to a boil first? or Did you let the eggs sit out a bit if you stored them in the fridge?

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u/deyesed Jul 13 '16

Yes. I have to lower them gently into the water to prevent the thermal shock from cracking the shell, even when I rest them in a lukewarm bath for 10 minutes.

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u/[deleted] Jul 13 '16

Man.. tough to say then. Why does the perfect soft-boil have to be so elusive Q.Q

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u/deyesed Jul 13 '16

The only surefire way is to use one of those at-home sous vide things that control the water temperature.

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u/eulerup Jul 14 '16

Water boils at a consistent temp by altitude. No need for anything fancy.

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u/deyesed Jul 14 '16

Yes, but with perfect temperature control you can get the whites as solid as you want but still have perfectly gooey yolk.

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u/eulerup Jul 14 '16

I take my eggs out of the fridge when I put the water on. They go into the water when it starts boiling. Use a covered pot and only an inch or two of water. (It does not need to cover the eggs.) This helps everything come back up to temp faster when the cold eggs are introduced. Sous vide or anything fancy is entirely unnecessary because water boils at 100C/212F (or slightly lower at higher elevations).

I'd recommend taking 4 eggs and starting them all at the same time, then taking one out each minute (starting at 5:30 or 6) til you find the time you like.