"Have ready a saucepan of boiling water; put the eggs into it gently with a spoon, letting the spoon touch the bottom of the saucepan before it is withdrawn, that the egg may not fall, and consequently crack. For those who like eggs lightly boiled, 3 minutes will be found sufficient; 3 3/4 to 4 minutes will be ample time to set the white nicely; and, if liked hard, 6 to 7 minutes will not be found too long."
Mrs Beeton's Household Management byIsabella Beeton. First published 1861
Everyone knows how to boil an egg, right?
Right?
Apparently, not.
I'd always assumed there was just one way to boil an egg, and that was my way. But watching my husband boil eggs this morning, I realised he uses a completely different method.
So I consulted the oracle of domesticity, Mrs Beeton, and it seems she sides with him. While I had been labouring under the misapprehension that eggs were placed into cold water and then brought to the boil before starting the timer, Mrs Beeton and my husband put the eggs into water that is already boiling.
What do you think? Start from cold, or drop into boiling?
