How To Boil Eggs: The simple and classic boiled egg, is one of the finest and easiest edible delights known on earth, with just 70 calories, and full of nature’s most perfect form of protein. It used to be that people were scared of eating eggs because of the cholesterol in the egg yolks. Now research has found that eggs also raise the good cholesterol that bodies need.

 According to the American Egg Board, the terms “hard-” and “soft-boiled” eggs are really misnomers, because boiling eggs makes them tough and rubbery. Instead, these eggs should be “hard-” or “soft-cooked” in hot (still) water.

For perfect cooking, start with eggs that don't have any visible cracks. There are two problems you'll want to avoid: cracked shells and the ugly green layer that can form around the yolk. NOTE: In case small cracks do develop, add salt to the cooking water. The salt will help to speed up the denaturing of the egg white, causing less of it to feather into the water. Use at least a tablespoon of table salt per two quarts of water.

To get perfectly peeled hard-cooked eggs, use eggs that are at least 3 to 5 days. Eggs that are too fresh are difficult to peel. Hard boiling farm fresh eggs will invariably lead to eggs that are difficult to peel. First, figure out if your eggs are fresh, because looking at the date on the carton is not always the best indicator of freshness, as eggs within the same carton with the same sell-by-date could have been laid on different days.

• In a fresh egg, the yolk stand tall and the white is thick and cloudy. In an older egg, the yolk looks flatter and breaks easily, and the white is thing and watery.

• A simple test in water will answer the freshness question for you. Place the egg in a bowl of water; if it lays on its side, it is very fresh. As it ages, the air pocket inside the egg grows, which buoys the egg up so it stands on one end. If the egg floats to the top, it is ready for the trash

• The best eggs for boiling are the ones on their way to standing up because that extra air makes peelling easier. That's why you should buy eggs for hard-cooking at least a week ahead of time

   

  Over high heat, bring water JUST to a rapid boil.

  As soon as the water reaches a rapid boil, remove pan from heat and cover egg pan tightly with a lid.
  
  Set timer for 17 minutes for large eggs or 20 minutes for jumbo eggs.
  
  After exactly 17 or 20  minutes (depending on size of your eggs), remove from head and drain off water from the eggs. Transfer the eggs to the bowl of ice cubes and cold water. Let eggs cool at least 10 minutes in cold water, then drain either store in refrigerator or peel the eggs (see below for How To Peel Hard-Cooked Eggs Easily).

  NOTE: Watch the time when cooking the eggs carefully. Overcook causes a green layer to form around the yolk. This layer is caused by a reaction between the iron in the yolk and the sulfur in the white. Heat speeds up this reaction, so the longer your eggs cook, the greater the chance of discoloration.