Beth writes: “This is a dumb question, but how do you boil an egg? My eggs always have an ugly green ring around the yolk… what’s up with that?”

Not to worry! Cooking eggs is not an eggs-act science (Sorry…I just had to say that).

That green ring is harmless, but really ugly, especially if you are making deviled eggs. It’s caused by a chemical reaction between the iron in the yolk and the sulfur in the white. You’ll get that ring if you hard boil the egg too long at a high temperature. Also, the older the egg is, the greener yolk will get.

Here’s my recipe for how to make hard boiled eggs, courtesy of my pals at the American Egg Board and the Incredible Edible Egg.

       Print this recipe.    

AEB Image

How to Make Hard Boiled Eggs

prep: 1 minute
cook: 12 to 15 minutes

you’ll need…
As many eggs as you want to boil
Water

let’s get to it…
Place eggs right from the fridge in a saucepan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Add enough cold water to cover by 1-inch.
Heat over high heat until large bubbles start to rise from the bottom. Cover and remove from heat.
Let eggs stand in the pan for 18 minutes.
Drain. Serve immediately or run cold water over the eggs in the pan until they are cooled completely. Drain and refrigerate.

Because Mama is always a font of information (whether you want it or not), here are some other things you should know about How to Make Hard Boiled Eggs:

• Peel those eggs right after cooling because the egg contracts in the shell. When they’re cool, gently roll between your palms first and start peeling at the large end. You can also shake them in the pan to loosen the shells.
• Peeling eggs under cool running water helps the shells slip off.
• Fresh eggs are always harder to peel. Buy and refrigerate them for about a week before hard-boiling them.
• In the shell, you can refrigerate eggs for up to one week. If possible, put them back in the carton so they don’t absorb other refrigerator odors. Put a small “X” on the shell so you can tell the boiled from the raw.

Finally, NEVER try to cook an egg in the shell in the Microwave. It will explode. Yep, Mama learned this lesson a long time ago—the HARD way!