1. Place eggs in single layer in saucepan. Add enough tap water to come at least 1 inch above eggs.

2. Cover. Quickly bring just to boiling. Turn off heat.

3. If necessary, remove pan from burner to prevent further boiling. Let eggs stand, covered, in the hot water about 15 minutes for Large eggs (12 minutes for Medium, 18 for Extra Large.)

4. Immediately run cold water over eggs or place them in ice water (not standing water) until completely cooled. Once cooled, refrigerate eggs in their shells and use within one week of cooking or peel and use immediately.

5. To remove shell, crackle it by tapping gently until a fine network of lines appears all over the shell.

6. Roll egg between hands to loosen shell.

7. Peel, starting at large end. Hold egg under running cold water or dip in bowl of water to help ease off shell.

8. To segment eggs evenly, use an egg slicer or wedger. For chopped eggs, rotate a sliced egg 90 degree in a slicer and slice again. Or chop eggs with a sharp pastry blender in a bowl. Draw down a wedger’s wires only partway to open an egg to hold a stuffing or resemble a flower.

The most critical aspect of the egg is – it’s air content. (bet you thought I was going to say the shell).

When first laid, the egg has barely any air inside a tiny air pocket. However, because the shell is porous, it allows air to penetrate. And as time passes, air moves inside the egg and the air pocket grows.

As this air pocket enlarges, the moisture in the egg evaporates. So, as the egg gets older the yolk becomes less plump and flatter and the white separates and spreads.

And this all impacts on cooking. Depending on how you intend on using the egg determines how fresh an egg you should use. If you fry an older egg, you will end with a flat ‘pancake’ instead of a neat rounded egg.

The more stale an egg the more fragile and difficult to separate it will be. As opposed to the fresh egg, which has a tight and tough inner skin. This makes peeling the shell off the boiled egg very frustrating. As the egg ages with skin relaxes allowing the shell to peel much easier.

If you are lucky enough to have your own hens, then you know how old your eggs are. But what if you have to buy them? The easiest method of tell how old an egg is, is to put the egg in a dish of water.

If it sinks and lies horizontally – very fresh.
If it sinks but tilts slightly – about 1 week old.
If it sinks but stands vertically – older, stale.
But if it floats – it’s off and be careful not to crack the shell.

Some people prefer brown eggs and some white. But nutritionally they are the same. The yolks will also vary in color depending of the diet of the hen. Do you find your eggs crack when boiling? Well, follow these simple steps to get perfect eggs, every time.

Use 2 week old eggs and ensure they are at room temperature. Make as pin prick in the rounded flat end of the egg – this allows any steam that might build up to escape.