Eggs

Ingredients

• eggs
• butter
• cheese
• milk

Method

Start with room-temperature eggs — cold eggs crack when they hit boiling water because the thermal shock fractures the shell. Bring salted water to a rolling boil (salt raises the boiling point fractionally and seasons the white if it leaks). Lower the eggs in gently with a spoon. Maintain that aggressive boil throughout; the agitation prevents the yolk from settling off-centre. For soft-boiled, stop at 6 minutes — the white sets whilst the yolk stays runny at the core. At 8 minutes you get jammy, with a just-set ring around a creamy centre. Hard-boiled takes 11 minutes. The moment time's up, shock them in iced water to halt carryover cooking. The sudden temperature drop stops the grey-green ring forming around the yolk — that's iron-sulphide oxidation, harmless but a marker of overcooking.

For sunny-side up, heat butter in a small frying pan over medium-low heat until foaming subsides. Crack the egg directly in and leave it alone. The whites need 4–5 minutes to turn opaque; you'll see the edges crisp slightly whilst the yolk stays liquid. Season with salt and pepper at the table, not before — salt draws moisture from the white and makes it weep.

Scrambled eggs demand low heat and patience — medium-low at most. Crack them into a cold pan with a knob of butter, then start stirring only once the whites begin to set (roughly 30 seconds). Push the cooked egg constantly toward the centre with a rubber spatula, tilting the pan to let uncooked egg run to the edges. This method, called scrambling, creates large, tender curds instead of a rubbery mass. Stop when the eggs still look slightly underdone — they'll carry over and firm up off heat. For a fluffier result, add a splash of milk before cooking; the liquid creates steam and breaks up the curds further. If you're building flavour — diced ham, mushrooms, tomato — fry these first until they release their moisture, then add the eggs. Finish with a pinch of sea salt and cracked pepper. Don't oversalt early; salt denatures proteins and accelerates curdling.