Egg Timer
Free online egg timer for soft-boiled, medium, and hard-boiled eggs. Get the perfect egg every time with precise timing guides for all cooking methods.
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Egg cooking times depend on starting temperature, egg size, altitude, and desired doneness. The most important variable is yolk consistency: a runny yolk at 3–4 minutes versus a fully set yolk at 12+ minutes. Cold eggs from the refrigerator require 30–60 seconds longer than room-temperature eggs. Large eggs are the standard for all timing guides.
Seven minutes produces a medium-boiled egg with a fully set white and a yolk that is set on the outside but still slightly jammy in the center — widely considered the ideal balance of texture and flavor. Adjust by ±1 minute to move toward softer or firmer results.
Start from boiling, every time
Eggs started in cold water and brought up to the boil have no reproducible timing, because the time depends on how fast your hob heats that volume of water. Lowering eggs into already-boiling water makes the clock mean something.
The other half of reproducibility is starting temperature. Fridge-cold and room-temperature eggs differ by around a minute for the same result, so pick one and be consistent rather than adjusting by guesswork.
Size changes the time more than people expect
A large egg and a medium egg are not interchangeable at these timescales — the difference is around thirty seconds. Recipes almost always assume large, and a batch of mixed sizes cannot come out evenly however carefully you time it.
For anything where the yolk texture matters, cooking one size at a time is worth the extra pan. This is the most common reason a reliable method suddenly stops working.
Ice water stops the cooking
An egg carries enough heat to keep cooking for a minute or more after it leaves the water. For soft or jammy yolks that residual cooking is the difference between what you wanted and what you get, so straight into ice water is not optional.
For hard-boiled eggs it also prevents the grey-green ring around the yolk, which is a harmless iron-sulphur reaction that happens with prolonged heat and looks unappetising.
Large eggs lowered into already-boiling water, straight into ice water afterwards. Subtract about a minute for room-temperature eggs.
| Result | Time | White | Yolk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very soft | 4 min | Just set | Liquid |
| Soft boiled | 6 min | Set | Runny |
| Jammy | 7 min | Set | Thick, spoonable |
| Medium | 9 min | Firm | Set but bright |
| Hard boiled | 11 min | Firm | Fully set |
| Overcooked | 14+ min | Rubbery | Chalky, grey ring |
| Medium eggs | -30 s | — | Size matters at this scale |
- Start from boiling water, not cold — cold starts depend on your hob and cannot be timed reproducibly.
- Ice water immediately: an egg keeps cooking for a minute after it leaves the pan.
Sources
- Boiling times are standard kitchen convention for large eggs and shift with size, starting temperature and altitude , TheTimerLab — accessed 2026-07-28
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