How to cook a perfect boiled egg

To hard-boil eggs, place them in a pot and add enough cold water to just cover the tops. Salt the water well to make peeling easier, and bring the water to a boil

At this point, two methods will work. You can continue to boil the eggs, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on their size.

But I prefer the way my mother, a former home economics teacher, does it. When the water boils, continue to cook, uncovered, for 3 minutes. Then simply cover the pot, remove it from the heat, and let the pot sit for 20 minutes or until you get around to remembering it. I've been cooking eggs this way for 20 years, and you'll get a perfectly hard-boiled egg every time.

Once the eggs have cooked you can strain out the water from the pan, fill the pan with cold water, strain again, fill again, until the eggs cool down a bit. Or lift them into a colander and run under cool tap water.

You can store the eggs in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.