An egg timer that cooks along with your eggs
This egg timer opens ready for a jammy egg: 6 minutes, for a firm white and a soft, creamy yolk. Press Start as soon as the eggs go into the boiling water. On screen, the egg cooks with them, from raw to runny, jammy and hard-boiled, so you can see where they are at a glance.
Prefer a different egg? The Cooking presets include a runny egg (3 minutes) and a hard-boiled egg (9 minutes). For any other time, turn the minute wheel or tap the digits and type it in. When the time is up, the sound rings until you stop it, and +1 min adds a minute if the eggs came straight from the fridge.
How long to boil an egg
These times are for large eggs lowered gently into water that is already at a full boil. Start the timer the moment the eggs go in, and keep the water at a lively simmer. Every stove and pan is a little different, so treat the chart as a starting point and adjust after your first batch.
| Egg | What you get | Room temperature | From the fridge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runny | White just set, liquid yolk for dipping toast | 3 min | 4 min |
| Soft | White fully set, warm runny yolk | 4 to 5 min | 5 to 6 min |
| Jammy | Firm white, thick and creamy yolk | 6 min | 7 min |
| Medium | Yolk set at the edge, soft and fudgy in the center | 7 to 8 min | 8 to 9 min |
| Hard-boiled | Fully set, pale yellow yolk | 9 min | 10 min |
| Extra firm | Dry, crumbly yolk for grating or mashing | 11 min | 12 min |
Adjust for size, temperature and altitude
Egg size, starting temperature and altitude all change the time. A large egg weighs about 2 ounces (57 grams) in the shell. Use these adjustments as a starting point:
| Situation | Change the time by |
|---|---|
| Medium egg | About 30 seconds less |
| Extra-large egg | About 30 seconds more |
| Jumbo egg | About 1 minute more |
| Egg straight from the fridge | About 1 minute more |
| Many eggs in a small pan | 30 seconds to 1 minute more |
| Around 5,000 feet of altitude | 1 to 2 minutes more |
| Around 10,000 feet of altitude | 2 to 4 minutes more |
Peeled jammy eggs for ramen and salads
For soy-marinated ramen eggs, many cooks boil fridge-cold large eggs for 6 and a half to 7 minutes, chill them in ice water for at least 5 minutes, peel them carefully and marinate them for a few hours or overnight. On the keypad, type 6, 3, 0 to set 6 minutes and 30 seconds.
Three ways to cook eggs
Boiling water start
Bring the water to a rolling boil, lower the eggs with a spoon and start the timer right away. This is the most precise method, because the timing always starts at the same temperature. It is the method behind the charts above.
Cold water start
Place the eggs in a pan, cover them with about an inch of cold water and bring it to a boil. For hard-boiled eggs, turn off the heat, cover the pan and let large eggs stand for about 12 minutes (about 9 for medium, 15 for extra-large). It is gentle and limits cracking, but it is less precise for soft eggs, because every stove heats at its own speed.
Steaming
Bring an inch of water to a boil under a steamer basket, add the eggs, cover and start the timer. About 6 minutes gives a jammy egg and about 12 minutes a hard-cooked one. Steamed eggs are often easier to peel.
What happens inside the egg
Cooking an egg is all about temperature. The proteins in the white start to set at about 140 to 145°F (60 to 63°C) and turn fully firm around 175°F (80°C). The yolk thickens around 150°F (65°C) and sets near 158°F (70°C). Heat travels from the outside in, which is why the white sets first and the yolk last.
Cook an egg too long and a gray-green ring may appear around the yolk. It is iron sulfide, formed when sulfur from the white meets iron in the yolk. It is harmless, and you can avoid it by timing carefully and cooling the eggs in cold water right away.
Water boils at 212°F (100°C) at sea level, but only around 203°F (95°C) at 5,000 feet. The water is cooler, so eggs take longer in the mountains.
How fresh is your egg? A very fresh egg lies flat at the bottom of a bowl of water. As it ages, its air pocket grows and it starts to stand on end, which makes it a good candidate for hard-boiling and easy peeling.
How to peel boiled eggs easily
- Use eggs that are a week or two old. In very fresh eggs, the white clings to the inner membrane. As eggs age, they lose carbon dioxide, the white becomes less acidic and the shell comes off more easily.
- Shock them in ice water for at least 5 minutes as soon as the timer rings.
- Crack the shell all over by tapping the egg or rolling it gently on the counter.
- Start at the wide end, where the air pocket is, and slip a thumb under the membrane.
- Peel under a thin stream of water to rinse away small bits of shell.
- Or skip peeling: for runny eggs, slice off the top with a knife and eat straight from the shell with a spoon.
How to store boiled eggs
Refrigerate boiled eggs within two hours of cooking. According to the USDA, hard-boiled eggs keep for about one week in the fridge, in the shell or peeled. Leaving the shell on until you eat them keeps them moist. Jammy eggs are best eaten soon, and marinated ramen eggs are usually kept no more than a few days. Do not freeze hard-boiled eggs: the whites turn tough and watery.
What to make with your eggs
- Runny eggs: serve them in egg cups with strips of buttered toast for dipping, or over asparagus.
- Jammy eggs: halve them over ramen, grain bowls, avocado toast or a green salad.
- Medium eggs: perfect in a niçoise salad or a spinach salad, where a soft center adds richness.
- Hard-boiled eggs: deviled eggs, egg salad sandwiches, Cobb salad, potato salad or a quick snack with a pinch of salt.
More timers for breakfast and beyond
Each egg time has its own page: the 3 minute timer for runny eggs, the 6 minute timer for jammy eggs and the 9 minute timer for hard-boiled eggs. For tea, the 4 minute timer is ready, the 10 minute timer suits most pasta, and the online timer has presets for rice, sport and relaxing too.