1. Heat a big saucepan of water to a boil. First, put a large pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil over high heat. (By the way, you only need water; some recipes ask for salting the water or adding baking soda, which are both absolutely unnecessary.) Add enough water to cover your eggs by a few inches. Eggs that are not completely submerged in boiling water may cook unevenly.

If you’re cooking a large batch of eggs, use a broad pot to keep the eggs all in one layer for more equal cooking. Perhaps you’ve heard that you should put your eggs in room temperature or cold water and then bring it to a boil. This is a myth. In our studies, boiling the water first before lowering the eggs into the bath resulted in easier peeling and more accurate timing.

2. Gently lower the eggs into the water. When the water reaches a rolling boil, remove your cold eggs from the fridge (the temperature shock will make peeling simpler). Use a big spoon to carefully place the eggs in the hot water. If you drop the eggs in carelessly, they may hit the bottom of the pot and crack, leaving floating wispy egg whites scattered throughout.

3. Boil the eggs for 4 to 14 minutes. Set a timer and cook the eggs until they reach your desired doneness. Adjust the heat as needed, keeping the water at a steady simmer; you want the eggs to cook, but a full boil will send them flailing around the saucepan like they’ve been dropped into a mosh pit. Pull your fighters from the pot at 4 minutes for soft-boiled eggs.

At 7-8 minutes, they will be hard-boiled but with a somewhat jammy yolk. For those who prefer drier hard-boiled eggs, you can cook them for up to 14 minutes. After that, you’ll most likely notice an unattractive green ring around the yolk’s periphery, which is a sign of overdone eggs. The cooking times shown below were calculated using big eggs; medium or extra-large eggs may provide different results.

Expect to experiment a little to determine the overall time for your desired amount of doneness. How long to cook an egg? Cook for 4 minutes for tender egg whites and a soft-boiled yolk, or 5 minutes for firm egg whites with a runny yolk. 6 minutes: crisp egg whites and a mushy yolk. 8 minutes: firm egg whites with a fully set but jammy yolk

10 minutes: firm egg whites with a firm pale yolk that’s slightly mushy in the center – 12 minutes: firm egg whites with a firm hard-boiled yolk – 14 minutes: firm egg whites with a crumbly, dry pale yolk (excellent for deviled eggs). Don’t have time to think about all of this? For a hands-free cooking method, boil your eggs in an Instant Pot.

4. Transfer the eggs to an ice bath. The timer goes off. With a slotted spoon, move the eggs from the boiling water to a large dish of icy water. Not only will the ice bath prevent the egg from cooking (ensuring that it is exactly as you want it), but the abrupt temperature shift will also make the cooked eggs simpler to remove.

5. Peel the eggs. When the eggs have cooled enough to handle, peel them under cool running water. The water will get beneath the eggshell, allowing you to lift it cleanly away. (It will also remove any microscopic particles of shell remaining on the eggs.)

Alternatively, you can peel the eggs directly in the bowl. After a few minutes of cooling, stir the unpeeled eggs with a spoon. Allow them to rattle around until their shells crack (which will begin the peeling process for you). The shells will not rinse as easily as they would in running water, but you will use less water this way. (This is our former food editor Rhoda Boone’s preferred way; she can peel a dozen hard-boiled eggs in less than two minutes.)

Boiled eggs, shelled or unshelled, can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week if kept in an airtight container. Enjoy them on their own or cut them into sandwiches, salads, spaghetti, casseroles, or grain bowls. Need more inspiration? Check out our greatest hard-boiled egg recipes—if they don’t motivate you to learn how to boil eggs correctly, nothing will.