HEAT AND EGGS Though some people claim that adding salt, vinegar, or baking soda to the water when you boil an egg can affect its final texture, in my testing, I found that the only factors that matter when boiling an egg in its shell are time and temperature To find out exactly how fast an egg cooks in boiling water, I cooked a dozen and a half eggs, removing them from the pot at 30-second intervals before splitting them open Now, there are a few things you’ll notice immediately First and most obvious is that the longer you keep an egg in boiling water, the hotter it gets But here’s something more important, which may seem trivial at first, yet, as we’ll see, is instrumental in a perfectly cooked egg: foods in a hot environment cook from the outside in, and the bigger the temperature differential between the food and the environment, the more uneven the cooking will be What this means is that if you lower an egg into boiling water, it’s possible to achieve an end result with a white that’s tough, rubbery, and overcooked while the yolk is still just barely cooked in the center, like this one: So, what’s the ideal temperature to cook an egg to? Here’s what happens to an egg white as it heats up: • From 30° to 140°F: As the white gets hot, its proteins, ... perfectly cooked egg: foods in a hot environment cook from the outside in, and the bigger the temperature differential between the food and the environment, the more uneven the cooking will be What... with a white that’s tough, rubbery, and overcooked while the yolk is still just barely cooked in the center, like this one: So, what’s the ideal temperature to cook an egg to? Here’s what happens to an egg white as it heats up:... to cook an egg to? Here’s what happens to an egg white as it heats up: • From 30° to 140°F: As the white gets hot, its proteins,