How to Soft Boil Eggs

You might not want to hear it, but there's no sure-fire route to a perfect soft boiled egg.

Somewhere between 4 and 8 minutes in gently boiling water should work. A full boil is not advisable as it increases the likelihood that your eggs will crack as they cook.

The point of boiling eggs is to bring them gently to the perfect internal temperature that yields a fluffy yolk and a firm, but tender white. But there are a lot of variables to manage.

At high altitude, water boils at lower temperatures. So of course, at a lower temperature, it will take a little longer to boil an egg.

If your eggs are at room temperature, they will cook more quickly and evenly because they are already at a higher temperature to begin with. And if your eggs have been hiding in the back of the fridge where the cold air comes in, they might be much colder and so take an extra few minutes to cook. Also, if you cook too many eggs at once, it will drop the water temperature dramatically and again, cooking will take even longer.

Another problem is peeling. Occasionally, the shell will be so bonded to the egg that it will disintegrate as you peel it. Shocking boiled eggs in ice water as soon as they finish cooking can sometimes make them easier to peel. Also, older eggs will peel more easily. But more often than not, you won't fully peel a soft boiled egg anyway.