How to Make Jammy Soft-Boiled Eggs

Cooking the perfect soft-boiled egg, with a set white and runny yolk, doesn’t have to be hard. Follow a few simple steps and perfect soft-boiled eggs can be yours!

What is a Jammy Egg?

A “jammy” egg is a fairly new term for what’s basically a soft-boiled egg. It’s cooked in the shell, like a hard-boiled egg, until the white is firm and the yolk remains liquid. 

How to Make Jammy Boiled Eggs: Three Steps for Perfect Soft Boiled Eggs

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil before adding the eggs. It’s important to cook soft-boiled eggs in already boiling water. If you start the egg in cold water, it’s easy to overcook the eggs. Bring about two inches of water to a boil and then add the eggs. 
2. Use a timer. This is key. To achieve the dreamy soft center, cook the eggs for exactly six or seven minutes. Cooking the eggs longer than seven minutes sets the yolk. 
3. Cool the eggs. As soon as you start cooking the eggs, fill a small bowl with ice and water. Place it near the stove. As soon as your timer goes off, transfer the eggs to the bowl. This immediately lowers the temperature of the egg, stopping cooking. If you skip the ice bath, the heat from the egg continues to cook it and you won’t have the lovely liquid yolk. 

How Long Should I Cook a Soft-Boiled Egg?

The answer is…it depends on how you like the yolk. The range for a soft-boiled egg is between five and seven minutes. Some include eight minutes for a soft-boiled egg. I don’t. At eight minutes, the yolk remains soft but set. I consider this texture to be a medium-cooked egg.

Five Minutes: Very soft egg white and a liquid yolk. This makes an egg that’s almost too soft to cut in half. If you like a very soft egg, this is the cooking time for you.

Six Minutes: Firm egg white and a runny, slightly thickened yolk. The entire yolk remains liquid. This is the most popular cooking time for ramen-style eggs. 

Seven Minutes: Firm egg white, similar to a six-minute egg, with a thickened runny yolk. The yolk almost resembles a sauce. When cooked for seven minutes, the edge of the yolk sometimes sets. This is my favorite cooking time for eggs that I want to put on a salad or eat as a snack.

Questions You Might Have About Making a Soft-Boiled Egg

Can I use cold eggs from the refrigerator?

Yes. The cooking times are based on cold eggs from the refrigerator eggs. 

What size eggs should I use?

The cooking time is based on large eggs. In the United States, this is the most popular size egg and weighs about two ounces (56 grams). 

Does the water have to cover the eggs during cooking?

It’s fine if the eggs aren’t fully covered with water during cooking. They are cooked in a pot of boiling water with the lid on. The lid traps steam which helps the eggs to cook. Two inches of water is enough. Just remember to put the lid on the pot while the eggs cook. 

Do I have to pierce the eggshell before cooking?

Nope. There’s an old cooking myth that states if you piece an eggshell with a pin, it makes the egg easy to peel. This simply isn’t true. Cooling an egg in an ice bath makes them easy to peel.

What the best way to peel a soft-boiled egg?

After cooking, cool the egg in an ice bath for at least three minutes. Tap the shell lightly on a cutting board. Try to crack it all the way around. Then press the shell, breaking the thin membrane that’s between the shell and the egg white. If you break this membrane, it’s easy to peel the egg. 

Some people advise peeling soft boiled eggs under running water. I find this to be a waste of water. Instead, I peel the egg and then rinse it to remove any stuck-on pieces of shell.