To cook a boiled egg, lower it carefully into a pan of boiling water on the hob, taking care not to let the egg crack. It may help to hold the egg in the boiling water for a few seconds before releasing it into the pan. Some people claim that some vinegar in the water can help avoid cracking the egg, while others prefer to put the egg into water that is warm but not boiling.
Keep the water boiling gently for a few minutes, then remove the egg carefully. For a soft-boiled egg (one where the egg-white has become firm but the yolk is still runny) about 3–4 minutes should suffice and the egg should be served at once. For a hard-boiled egg (where both egg-white and yolk have become firm) a little longer will be needed, and the egg can be kept warm (e.g. by wrapping in a warm cloth or holding in a warmed pot) until required.
2. Serving
The egg should be served in an egg-cup, and eaten with a small spoon.
Which way up to place the egg is famously controversial: in his novel "Gulliver's Travels", Jonathan Swift used disagreements in Lilliput about the "right" way to eat an egg as a parody of religious disputes in England. We are told that formerly, in Lilliput, eggs were broken at the larger end, but that the Emperor of Lilliput decreed some while ago that all eggs should be broken at the smaller end. The conflicts between Big-Endians (people who preferred to break eggs at the larger end) and Little-Endians gave rise to "six rebellions ... wherein one Emperor lost his life, and another his crown". I'm with the Emperor of Lilliput on this one: little end up works best for me, but I shan't accuse you of treason if you prefer it the other way!
Whichever way up the egg is placed, it should be cut across at approximately the level of the top of the yoke. By tapping gently but firmly on the shell at the appropriate place, a small break in the shell can be made, and then by gradually turning the egg around in its cup and repeatedly breaking the shell at the same height a line of fracture can be made right around the shell. At this point, the end of the egg can be lifted off. Some people prefer to use a knife to cut of the end of the egg. Ideally, the yolk will be just visible at this point.
A pinch of salt may be added to the yolk if desired. A boiled egg should be served with toast, preferably thin white toast lightly buttered. The toast optionally may be cut into strips approximately 1–2cm wide, known as "soldiers".
3. Eating.
The egg-white from the end of the egg may be scooped out readily with the spoon. The remainder of the egg is then eaten, starting with the yolk and concluding with the egg-white surrounding it.
The "soldiers" may be used to dip into the yolk, if the egg is soft-boiled. Well, what did you think they were for? Playing strip poohsticks with?
This picture shows a large size hen's egg, served little end up. The egg was plunged into boiling water for about 4 minutes, and the top was removed by striking the shell repeatedly with the spoon while turning the egg around, then finally scooping the top off with the spoon. The yolk was sprinkled with a pinch of salt, then the soldiers dipped in, and the eating was delicious.
Further reading
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