How Long to Boil Eggs: Soft, Jammy, Medium and Hard

These times are for a large egg (about 60 g) straight from the fridge, lowered into water at a full boil and then held at a gentle simmer. Start the timer the moment the egg goes in.

Doneness	Minutes	White	Yolk	Use it for
Very soft	4–5	Just set, wobbly	Fully runny	Dipping toast soldiers, ramen eggs after marinating
Soft	6	Set	Runny centre, thick edge	Breakfast eggs in a cup
Jammy	7	Firm	Glossy, custard-like	Salads, grain bowls, avocado toast
Medium	8–9	Firm	Mostly set, soft middle	Picnic eggs, sandwiches
Hard	10–12	Firm	Fully set, pale yellow	Egg salad, devilled eggs, meal prep
Overcooked	14+	Rubbery	Crumbly, grey-green ring	Avoid: the ring is iron sulfide from over-heating

The egg timer has one-tap presets for soft (6), medium (9) and hard (12) and a custom field for anything else.

Egg white is mostly water and proteins that begin to coagulate at about 62 °C and are fully firm by 80 °C. Yolk proteins start to thicken at about 65 °C and are fully set at roughly 70 °C, but the yolk sits at the centre, insulated by the white, so it reaches those temperatures last. When you put an egg into boiling water, heat moves inward from the shell at a fixed rate; the longer it stays, the deeper the "set" front travels. At six minutes the white has passed 80 °C but the centre of the yolk is still below 65; at twelve minutes everything is above 70 °C.

This is why egg size matters: a small egg has less distance for the heat to travel and cooks about 30 to 45 seconds faster than a large one; an extra-large or duck egg needs a minute or two more. It is also why starting temperature matters: a room-temperature egg begins roughly 15 °C warmer than a fridge egg and reaches the same doneness about a minute sooner.

Boiling start (the method in the chart): bring the water to a rolling boil, lower the eggs in with a spoon, reduce to a simmer and start the clock. Results are repeatable because the water is at a known temperature from the first second. Eggs also peel more easily, since the outer white sets instantly against the shell membrane. The one drawback is thermal shock cracking, which a spoon and a gentle simmer mostly prevent.

Cold start: put the eggs in cold water, bring to the boil, and time from the moment it boils (about 3–4 minutes for soft, 7–8 for hard). Gentler on shells and convenient for a dozen eggs, but the time the pan takes to boil varies with its size and your hob, so the outcome is less predictable. If you use this method, err on the shorter side and check one egg.

Whichever you choose, for anything softer than hard-boiled, transfer the eggs to cold water for two minutes as soon as the timer rings. Residual heat keeps cooking the yolk, and two minutes on the counter is enough to take a six-minute egg to a seven-minute one.

• Altitude. Water boils at 100 °C at sea level, about 97 °C at 1,000 m and 93 °C at 2,000 m. Since the water is cooler, heat moves in more slowly: add roughly one minute per 1,000 m. Denver, Mexico City and Ankara all sit high enough for this to be noticeable.
• Many eggs at once. Adding a dozen cold eggs drops the water temperature and it takes a minute or more to recover. Use a large pot with plenty of water, and add about 30 seconds to the time for six or more eggs.
• Steaming. Eggs in a steamer basket above boiling water cook in almost identical times to boiled eggs and are easier to peel; use the same chart.
• Cracking. Most cracks come from eggs knocked against the pan or dropped in. Use a spoon and keep the water at a simmer. A teaspoon of vinegar in the water helps any leaking white set immediately rather than streaming out.
• Peeling. Very fresh eggs peel badly because the membrane clings; eggs a week or more old peel cleanly. Crack the wide end first (there is an air pocket there), and peel under a trickle of running water.

The same principle applies to related methods. A poached egg in water just below the boil takes 3 minutes for a runny yolk and 4 for a firmer one. A coddled egg in a lidded ramekin standing in simmering water needs 6 to 8 minutes. For ramen or marinated eggs, boil for 6½ to 7 minutes, chill, peel and steep in the marinade for at least four hours; the jammy yolk absorbs flavour without turning chalky.

If you are cooking eggs alongside other components, the cooking timer runs up to four labelled countdowns at once, so the eggs, the rice and the greens each get their own alert. For a single custom time, the plain online timer does the job.