4 ms·

I don't understand - why would the type of cooktop make a difference to boiling an egg? The boiling water will be at 100° whether it's heated by induction, coil

by patmcc 4y ago

I don't understand - why would the type of cooktop make a difference to boiling an egg? The boiling water will be at 100° whether it's heated by induction, coil top, gas, etc.

londons_explore 4y ago
Many induction cookers are kinda low power (to save on money). If you have a nice pot of boiling water at 100°, and you add a bunch of cold eggs, the water temperature dips down to 70° and takes a really long time to climb back up. Since the dip depends on the power of the cooker and the number of eggs added, it makes a universal rule about how many minutes to cook an egg to perfection hard.
- astura 4y ago
  So bring the eggs up to temperature with the water? That's what I've been doing my entire life. It seems kinda dangerous to try to add eggs to boiling water in the first place, splash risk. At least it's a completely unnecessary danger.
  - jasonwatkinspdx 4y ago
    That tends to make the shell sticking much worse. Kenji has a huge article he did for the NYT where he tested all this stuff at scale with like 150 people cooking eggs. You don't need the water going at a violent roll or anything, just when you see big bubbles going bottom to top is fine. You lower the eggs in with a spoon. There's no danger.
    - astura 4y ago
      I take it this is the article? https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/23/dining/how-to-hard-boil-eggs.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/23/dining/how-to-hard-boil-e... I'm not impressed by the "study's" conclusion; I mentioned in another comment, if you use the right technique, any egg will peel easily - https://youtube.com/watch?v=TmWPxDHSNWk https://youtube.com/watch?v=TmWPxDHSNWk
  - voisin 4y ago
    I think the issue is that induction boils water so much quicker than other methods that if you start with eggs in cold water and bring to a boil (a common method), the water boils so quickly on induction that the eggs don’t warm up quite as much before the water reaches a boil. The difference in boiling time with induction is shocking.
    - astura 4y ago
      Makes sense, thanks.
- ars 4y ago
  Isn't that why it's steam? You keep the cold eggs above the steam, so that never changes temperature.
- ajross 4y ago
  > If you have a nice pot of boiling water at 100°, and you add a bunch of cold eggs You're also likely to crack those eggs from the thermal stress. Standard American Frontier Cooking Tradition demands that cold eggs go in cold water and come to a temperature along with the water. Turn heat down to a simmer just as it reaches boiling. Five minutes for a standard soft boil, ten for hard boiled. Then place under running cold water to cool for 5 minutes before peeling (which you should do immediately, don't let the egg sit in its shell, it is much easier and cleaner to get it out now). Works every time. Even on induction ranges, which I've been using for 11 years now. Frankly I don't know what the author of the linked article is complaining about.
  - tigerlily 4y ago
    I perforate the bottom of the egg with the needle of a small safety pin to prevent my eggs from cracking. Works like a charm.
  - ej3 4y ago
    I'd also like to add that how easy an egg is to peel has nothing to do with how you cook it. Truly fresh eggs will not peel wonderfully. If you have some week old Kroger eggs, more than likely those things are several weeks old which changes the chemical composition of the egg. The shell/skin becomes more alkaline which somehow causes them to release from the white more easily. If you have fresh eggs, boil them with some baking soda in the water. For hard boiled just put cold eggs in cold water and boil them. When it boils, shut off the heat. When you can stick you hand in the water and pull them out they're done.
  - kadoban 4y ago
    That kind of recipe is great, except different types of stoves and different amounts of water get to boiling in _vastly_ different amounts of time, and it affects the doneness of the eggs. Recipes are better when they can actually be followed and get consistent results.
    - ajross 4y ago
      And that is why hackers tend to make poor cooks. Look, you can reject Received Wisdom and do your own thing in the interests of rigor, or you can cook the way your grandmother did. We all know which produces better food. Of course stoves are different. But trying to normalize things as an a priori goal (in this case by dropping cold eggs into boiling water!) only makes things worse. Traditional recipes are traditional precisely because they're tolerant of situational slop and occasional misinterpretation.
senectus1 4y ago
in my experience they get there faster and are easier to get to a set temp and stay stable at that temp. We have both and the gas one is a lot more variable.

by patmcc 4y ago

I don't understand - why would the type of cooktop make a difference to boiling an egg? The boiling water will be at 100° whether it's heated by induction, coil top, gas, etc.

londons_explore 4y ago

Many induction cookers are kinda low power (to save on money). If you have a nice pot of boiling water at 100°, and you add a bunch of cold eggs, the water temperature dips down to 70° and takes a really long time to climb back up. Since the dip depends on the power of the cooker and the number of eggs added, it makes a universal rule about how many minutes to cook an egg to perfection hard.

astura 4y ago
So bring the eggs up to temperature with the water? That's what I've been doing my entire life. It seems kinda dangerous to try to add eggs to boiling water in the first place, splash risk. At least it's a completely unnecessary danger.
- jasonwatkinspdx 4y ago
  That tends to make the shell sticking much worse. Kenji has a huge article he did for the NYT where he tested all this stuff at scale with like 150 people cooking eggs. You don't need the water going at a violent roll or anything, just when you see big bubbles going bottom to top is fine. You lower the eggs in with a spoon. There's no danger.
  - astura 4y ago
    I take it this is the article? https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/23/dining/how-to-hard-boil-eggs.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/23/dining/how-to-hard-boil-e... I'm not impressed by the "study's" conclusion; I mentioned in another comment, if you use the right technique, any egg will peel easily - https://youtube.com/watch?v=TmWPxDHSNWk https://youtube.com/watch?v=TmWPxDHSNWk
- voisin 4y ago
  I think the issue is that induction boils water so much quicker than other methods that if you start with eggs in cold water and bring to a boil (a common method), the water boils so quickly on induction that the eggs don’t warm up quite as much before the water reaches a boil. The difference in boiling time with induction is shocking.
  - astura 4y ago
    Makes sense, thanks.
ars 4y ago
Isn't that why it's steam? You keep the cold eggs above the steam, so that never changes temperature.
ajross 4y ago
> If you have a nice pot of boiling water at 100°, and you add a bunch of cold eggs You're also likely to crack those eggs from the thermal stress. Standard American Frontier Cooking Tradition demands that cold eggs go in cold water and come to a temperature along with the water. Turn heat down to a simmer just as it reaches boiling. Five minutes for a standard soft boil, ten for hard boiled. Then place under running cold water to cool for 5 minutes before peeling (which you should do immediately, don't let the egg sit in its shell, it is much easier and cleaner to get it out now). Works every time. Even on induction ranges, which I've been using for 11 years now. Frankly I don't know what the author of the linked article is complaining about.
- tigerlily 4y ago
  I perforate the bottom of the egg with the needle of a small safety pin to prevent my eggs from cracking. Works like a charm.
- ej3 4y ago
  I'd also like to add that how easy an egg is to peel has nothing to do with how you cook it. Truly fresh eggs will not peel wonderfully. If you have some week old Kroger eggs, more than likely those things are several weeks old which changes the chemical composition of the egg. The shell/skin becomes more alkaline which somehow causes them to release from the white more easily. If you have fresh eggs, boil them with some baking soda in the water. For hard boiled just put cold eggs in cold water and boil them. When it boils, shut off the heat. When you can stick you hand in the water and pull them out they're done.
- kadoban 4y ago
  That kind of recipe is great, except different types of stoves and different amounts of water get to boiling in _vastly_ different amounts of time, and it affects the doneness of the eggs. Recipes are better when they can actually be followed and get consistent results.
  - ajross 4y ago
    And that is why hackers tend to make poor cooks. Look, you can reject Received Wisdom and do your own thing in the interests of rigor, or you can cook the way your grandmother did. We all know which produces better food. Of course stoves are different. But trying to normalize things as an a priori goal (in this case by dropping cold eggs into boiling water!) only makes things worse. Traditional recipes are traditional precisely because they're tolerant of situational slop and occasional misinterpretation.

senectus1 4y ago

in my experience they get there faster and are easier to get to a set temp and stay stable at that temp. We have both and the gas one is a lot more variable.