An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace

by Tamar Adler

I boil eggs by putting them in a pot of cold water, bringing the pot to a boil, then, as soon as I see the first bubble, turning the burner off. I let the eggs sit in the water for about four minutes, meanwhile setting up a bowl of water with ice in it nearby. When four minutes are up I remove one egg, drop it into the ice water, crack the shell a little, peel some off, and check for doneness by pressing on the white. I think the perfect boiled egg has a firm white and a yolk that’s just cooked enough to hold together when the egg’s cut in two. If the white’s not firm when I check, I leave the eggs in the water for another twenty seconds or so, then scoop them all out into the ice water and peel them. I still call them boiled eggs, soft and hard, because though it’s not what they are, it’s what they’re called.