Have ready a saucepan containing boiling water. Carefully put in with a spoon the number of eggs desired, covering them with water. Remove saucepan to back of range, where water will not boil. Cook from six to eight minutes if liked soft-boiled, forty to forty-five if liked hard-boiled. Eggs may be cooked by placing in cold water and allowing water to heat gradually until the boiling-point is reached, when they will be soft boiled. In using hard-boiled eggs for making other dishes, when taken from the hot water they should be plunged into cold water to prevent, if possible, discoloration of yolks.
Eggs perfectly cooked should be placed and kept in water at a uniform temperature of 175° F.