HOUSTON – Perfect hard-boiled eggs don’t have to be a mystery this Easter or anytime you need to cook them.
There is an easy formula for making them taste really good that we’re going to share with you, but let’s start with safety first.
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If it’s Easter time and you’re planning to color Easter eggs, be sure to not skip the hard-boiling for your health.
Why hard-boil them?
Raw eggs have the potential for salmonella contamination, so make sure you wash your hands before boiling, cooling, coloring or hiding them for games.
Also be sure to avoid cracking the eggs when you’re boiling, Eggs with cracked shells should not be decorated or eaten, the University of Minnesota Extension noted in its excellent guide.
Hard cooking eggs should kill salmonella bacteria, but will not keep them from spoiling or getting re-contaminated, experts note. Refrigerate hard-cooked eggs before dyeing them and keep them refrigerated when you are not using them. Do not leave eggs out of the refrigerator for more than two hours.
What’s the optimal method to hard-boil?
Put a single layer of eggs in a saucepan. Fill the pan with cold water at least an inch above the eggs. Cover and bring the water to a boil. Once a boil is achieved, turn off the heat. Let the eggs stand covered in the hot water for at least 10 minutes or longer depending on your preference. Run cold water or submerge the eggs in ice water in a bowl. When they are cool, drain and refrigerate.
What is prep like for soft-boiled eggs?
We love graphics like this to get the right boiling time for eggs. With a guide like this, it seems somewhere between four to eight minutes, depending on your preference.
Cut the peeling frustration
Reduce the egg peeling anger by the cooling method in iced water. You can also age eggs in the refrigerator for a week to 10 days prior to hard cooking.
Don’t wait too long to eat them
Hard cooked eggs should be used within one week of cooking.
Do you have any hard-boiled eggs tips you could share with us? Let us know in the comments and we could feature your advice in an update to this report.