Easy hard-boiled eggs
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EmailLooking to add more protein to your diet or wondering how to cook hard-boiled eggs? Explore these suggestions.
Want a perfect snack for the day? A hard-boiled egg is a fast and nutrient-dense snack choice. This "egg-cellent" snack provides the body with six grams of protein and provides nine different essential amino acids. Not only that, but just one large boiled egg as a snack provides calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, folate, vitamin A and vitamin D amongst other nutrients.
One egg is equivalent to one ounce of lean protein. While other sources of protein such as meat and fish can be pricey, eggs typically cost less than 15 cents per ounce.
Another great aspect of eggs is the variety of ways they can be cooked and prepared. Popular types include fried, scrambled, poached, and boiled. Boiling eggs can be easy and can be prepared ahead of time for those in a rush. The American Egg Board gives these directions for perfect hard-boiled/hard-cooked eggs:
- Place eggs in a saucepan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Add enough cold water to come at least 1 inch above the eggs. Heat over high heat to boiling. Turn off heat.
- If necessary, remove the pan from the burner to prevent further boiling. Cover pan. Let the eggs stand in the hot water about 12 minutes for large eggs (about 9 minutes for medium, about 15 for extra-large).
- Immediately run cold water over the eggs or place them in ice water until they're completely cooled. Never microwave eggs in the shell and unfortunately, it’s almost impossible to hard-boil eggs at altitudes above 10,000 feet
- Start peeling at the large end. Hold egg under running cold water or dip in a bowl of water to help ease off the shell.
- If you don’t want to use the eggs right away, store in the refrigerator, uncracked, until needed. They can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week.
There are many ways to use eggs in meals such as chopping a hard-boiled egg and adding it to a salad, creating an omelet filled with peppers and spinach, or creating a quiche with mushrooms, the combinations and creations are endless. For more egg ideas go to incredibleegg.org.
Eggs are great to eat, but they also need to be stored properly. The storage of eggs in the United States is different than most European countries. USDA grade eggs have been washed and sanitized. The egg has a very porous shell and a protective coating called the cuticle over the shell. When the egg is washed and sanitized, this protective coating is removed, leaving the egg cleaned but susceptible to a bacterial contamination.
To reduce the risk of bacterial growth, store eggs:
- Within the original carton.
- Store in the refrigerator below 40 degrees Fahrenheit – bacteria starts growing above 40 degrees F.
- Store carton on a shelf in the fridge. Do not store eggs on the door of the fridge where temperatures may fluctuate when the fridge is opened and closed.
- Also, it is recommended that you do not to wash the egg, as the water could transfer bacterium through the of pours the shell – keep in mind that government regulations require that USDA-graded eggs be carefully washed and sanitized using only compounds meeting FDA regulations for processing foods.
For more information about food safety and other topics visit Michigan State University Extension or contact your local MSU Extension county office.
