Now put the eggs in cold water (a bowl of ice water is best) for a few minutes. It stops the cooking and makes them easier to peel.
Eggs for several people? Choose the firmest egg and put all the eggs in together. Take each softer egg out when its time has passed: the line above shows every time.
Space start / pause · R reset · F fullscreen
About this egg timer
Tell the timer how you like your egg, and it works out the boiling time for you. Choose a very soft egg with a runny yolk for toast, a soft jammy egg for ramen or salad, a medium egg, or a hard-boiled egg for lunch boxes and egg salad. Then pick the egg size, whether the eggs come straight from the fridge, and how you start them.
Press Start, and an alarm rings when the eggs are ready, with a reminder to cool them in cold water. The halved egg on the timer shows the yolk you chose.
Features
- 4 ways to like your egg — very soft (runny), soft (jammy), medium and hard-boiled, each with a picture of the yolk
- Size and temperature — small, medium, large or extra large eggs, from the fridge or at room temperature
- Two methods — lower the eggs into boiling water, or start them in cold water
- Fine-tune — change the time in 30-second steps for your stove, pot or altitude, and add +30 s while it runs
- All four times at once — see the time for every kind of egg, handy when people want different eggs
- An alarm — it rings until you stop it, with a "put the eggs in cold water" reminder
- 6 styles and fullscreen — Kitchen, Retro, Pastel, Sunny, Minimal and Dark, big enough to see across the kitchen
- Keeps the screen on while it runs, and remembers your choices on this device
Egg boiling times
These are the times the timer uses. They are for eggs lowered into water that is already boiling, then cooked at a gentle boil. Sizes are US sizes: small about 43 g, medium about 50 g, large about 57 g, extra large about 64 g. In the UK and Europe sizes run bigger: a UK medium egg is close to a US large.
Eggs straight from the fridge
| How you like it | Small | Medium | Large | Extra large |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very soft (runny yolk) | 4:00 | 4:30 | 5:00 | 5:45 |
| Soft (jammy yolk) | 5:30 | 6:00 | 6:30 | 7:15 |
| Medium (just-set yolk) | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:45 |
| Hard-boiled (firm yolk) | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:45 |
Eggs at room temperature (1 minute less)
| How you like it | Small | Medium | Large | Extra large |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very soft (runny yolk) | 3:00 | 3:30 | 4:00 | 4:45 |
| Soft (jammy yolk) | 4:30 | 5:00 | 5:30 | 6:15 |
| Medium (just-set yolk) | 6:00 | 6:30 | 7:00 | 7:45 |
| Hard-boiled (firm yolk) | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:45 |
Cold-water start: eggs from the fridge, put in a pot of cold water and timed from the moment the water boils
| How you like it | Small | Medium | Large | Extra large |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very soft (runny yolk) | 2:30 | 2:45 | 3:00 | 3:30 |
| Soft (jammy yolk) | 3:30 | 3:45 | 4:00 | 4:30 |
| Medium (just-set yolk) | 5:00 | 5:15 | 5:30 | 6:00 |
| Hard-boiled (firm yolk) | 7:00 | 7:15 | 7:30 | 8:00 |
With a cold-water start and room-temperature eggs, take off 30 seconds.
How the time is worked out
The timer starts from a large egg straight from the fridge and then adds or takes away a little:
- Boiling-water start — very soft 5:00, soft 6:30, medium 8:00, hard-boiled 10:00
- Cold-water start (timed from the boil) — very soft 3:00, soft 4:00, medium 5:30, hard-boiled 7:30
- Egg size, boiling-water start — small −1:00, medium −0:30, extra large +0:45
- Egg size, cold-water start — small −0:30, medium −0:15, extra large +0:30
- Room-temperature eggs — −1:00 with a boiling-water start, −0:30 with a cold-water start
- Your fine-tune — anything from −2:00 to +5:00
Every stove and pot is a little different, so these times are a good starting point. Cook one egg, check it, and use the fine-tune buttons. The timer remembers your change next time.
Tips for good boiled eggs
- Fridge or room temperature? Cold eggs need about a minute more, and they crack more easily in boiling water. Lower them in gently with a spoon so they do not hit the bottom of the pot.
- Use enough water. Cover the eggs by about 2–3 cm (1 inch). A full pot of cold eggs cools the water, so it takes longer to boil again: add 30 seconds when the pot is crowded.
- A gentle boil is enough. A hard, rolling boil knocks the eggs around and can crack them.
- High altitude. In the mountains, water boils at a lower temperature, so eggs cook more slowly. Above about 1,000 m (3,300 ft), eggs often need 1–2 minutes more, and more again higher up. Add time with +30 s and test one egg.
- Cool them fast. When the alarm rings, move the eggs into a bowl of ice water, or hold them under cold running water, for a few minutes. This stops the cooking, so a soft egg stays soft, and it helps to stop the grey-green ring around a hard yolk.
- Easy peeling. Eggs that are one or two weeks old peel more easily than very fresh ones. Eggs started in boiling water are often easier to peel than eggs started in cold water.
- How to peel. Tap the egg all over on the counter, then peel it under running water or in the bowl of water. Start at the wide end, where the air pocket is.
How to use it
- Choose how you like your egg: very soft, soft, medium or hard-boiled
- Choose the egg size, the egg temperature (fridge or room) and the method
- For a boiling-water start, lower the eggs into boiling water and press Start right away. For a cold-water start, press Start when the water boils
- When the alarm rings, put the eggs in cold water, then peel and enjoy
- Press Fullscreen to see the timer from across the kitchen
Frequently asked questions
How long do you boil an egg for a runny yolk?
About 5 minutes for a large egg from the fridge, lowered into boiling water. A small egg needs about 4 minutes, and an egg at room temperature about 1 minute less.
How long does a jammy egg take?
About 6 and a half minutes for a large egg straight from the fridge. The yolk is thick and sticky in the middle, like jam. Jammy eggs are great in ramen, on toast and in salads.
How long do you boil eggs for hard-boiled?
About 10 minutes for large eggs from the fridge in boiling water. With a cold-water start, it is about 7 and a half minutes after the water boils. Then cool them in ice water.
Should I start eggs in cold water or boiling water?
Both work. Boiling water gives more exact times, because the clock starts when the eggs go in, and the eggs are often easier to peel. A cold-water start cracks fewer eggs, but the result depends on how fast your stove heats the water.
Why does my hard-boiled egg have a green ring?
The grey-green ring forms when the yolk cooks too long or cools slowly. Next time, take 30 seconds to a minute off and put the eggs straight into ice water.
Can I boil eggs for different people at the same time?
Yes. Put all the eggs in together and set the timer for the firmest egg. Take each softer egg out when its time has passed. For example, with large fridge eggs, a hard-boiled egg takes 10:00 and a runny egg 5:00: take the runny egg out when 5:00 are left on the timer.
Does the timer keep running if I switch tabs?
Yes, on a computer: keep the tab open, and the time left shows in the tab title. On a phone, keep the page open and the screen on (the timer asks for this), because some phones pause pages in the background.
Is it free?
Yes. There is no sign-up and nothing to install. Your choices are saved on your device only.
Related tools
- Timer & Stopwatch — any time, with big digits
- Recipe Scaler — make a recipe bigger or smaller
