Generality
For boiled eggs we mean a culinary preparation based on chicken eggs, cooked whole with shell and in cold water *, and characterized by the solidity of both the albumen and the yolk with overall maintenance of the original shape.
The preparation of hard-boiled eggs is quite simple and the procedure could be summarized as follows: fill a pan with cold water, place the whole (medium) eggs on it, put the pan on the stove over high heat and bring to the boil keeping it for 8-10 ' (not more); drain, being careful not to break the hard-boiled eggs, cool them in fresh water, then remove the shell.
Why is it necessary to cook eggs in cold, not hot water?
The hard-boiled eggs must be cooked in cold water because "the thermal shock" of the hot boiling water causes, more often than not, the breaking of the shell and the deformation of the hard-boiled eggs due to the release of the albumen.
Why should the cooking time of boiled eggs not exceed 10 minutes?
The excessive cooking of hard-boiled eggs causes a chromatic mutation caused by the chemical interaction of its elements; in practice, the yolk of the overcooked boiled eggs "darkens" superficially acquiring a greenish color. The longer the cooking lasts, the darker the yolk of the hard-boiled eggs becomes.
The change in color of the yolk is an indication of toxicity of boiled eggs?
No. This chemical reaction occurs following the excessive exposure of the hard-boiled eggs to heat and the only side effect is a reduction in the bio-availability of the iron contained in the yolk. In short: it happens that the sulphurous complexes of the inner region of the albumen ( hydrogen sulphide ) undergo degradation, freeing sulfur; the latter, being reactive, binds the iron in the outer region of the yolk giving rise to a black complex ( ferrous sulfide ). The dark reflections of this compound, in contrast with the yellow of the yolk, determine the green color. The toxicity of ferrous sulphide is not higher than that of the original hydrogen sulphide.
How do you peel boiled eggs?
The hard-boiled eggs, to be peeled in a simple and effective way, must be immediately cooled in water; skipping this step it is possible that the albumen remains adhered to the shell breaking at the time of separation. To separate the shell it is then necessary to crack it by tapping it with a spoon or by beating the hard-boiled eggs gently on a solid surface.
Boiled Eggs - All Tricks to Cook Perfectly
X Problems with video playback? Reload from YouTube Go to Video Page Go to Video Recipes Section Watch the video on youtubeNutritional characteristics
Cooking in cold water is the most digestible method of cooking eggs after boiling and poached.
When subjected to excessive heat treatment, in addition to acquiring an unpleasant pigmentation and undergoing a nutritional reduction (iron chelation in ferrous sulphide and degradation of thermolabile vitamins), hard-boiled eggs also become (slightly) less digestible; however, it is sufficient to remember not to continue cooking beyond 10 'from the boiling point: in this way the preparation will always be at the highest quality.
NB . I suggest carrying out various tests, gradually reducing cooking by 1 'or 30' '. This is justifiable by the fact that each method is essentially different from the other; the most important variables are: water volume, size-shape and type of pot, intensity of the heat source and use or not of the lid. It is NOT possible to use the microwave oven which causes the explosion of hard-boiled eggs.
| Nutritional composition per 100 grams of edible part of the hen's egg, whole: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nutritional values (per 100 g of edible portion)
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The nutritional composition of hard-boiled eggs is almost comparable to that of raw egg; the substantial differences are:
- Reduction of thermolabile vitamin concentration
- Increased availability of biotin (vit. H) by degradation of avidin chelating protein
- Increase / decrease in protein digestibility (EXTREMELY VARIABLE on the basis of the operator's hand) *
* An egg brought to a firm consistency is more digestible than the raw egg, while a boiled boiled egg (≥15 'from the time of the boil) undergoes a recombination of the protein structures such as to worsen its digestibility (similar to meat and fish ).
NB . A whole egg (raw and hard) weighs on average 61g, divided into 8g of shell, 37g of egg white and 16g of yolk. The retinol and carotenoids contained in eggs (therefore also in hard-boiled eggs) vary according to the composition of the feed and more than half are of the PRO-vitamin type (carotenes).
Boiled eggs bring a good amount of protein with high (or better, MAXIMUM) biological value; in them, the predominant amino acids are: glutamic acid, aspartic acid and leucine; the limiting one is lysine.
Fatty acids are mainly saturated (especially palmitic acid and stearic acid), followed by monounsaturated (mainly oleic acid) and finally by polyunsaturated ones (with the predominance of linoleic acid). The cholesterol content is borne by the yolk and at a first reading it is decidedly high; it is however necessary to specify that the quantity of lecithin MAY positively influence the absorption and metabolism of this steroid, limiting its potential harmfulness in predisposed subjects (hypercholesterolemics).
The mineral salts present in appreciable quantities are iron (which is also highly bioavailable) and potassium; from the vitamin point of view, there are excellent concentrations of riboflavin and retinol equivalent.
