A Very Easy Jammy Egg
Long time no see! I’ve been out of the internet - almost completely - for a couple of weeks and even though Substack does not count as social media, somehow writing for an audience of internet people (even ones I like so well as you!) has been shelved along with the rest. Isn’t it funny, what a great sense of Significant Well-Being creeps over you when you’ve been less connected to phones and screens? At least for me, the feeling is distinct. I feel superhuman when I’m mainly analog: fuller, brighter, a little superior. My brain functions better, I have mental space for creative projects, and I’m not addicted to the dopamine-slot machine that is notifications, messages, and yet another Instagram reel passed between friends. I love these reels, but I also find the process of staying caught up a bit exhausting. Which is so silly - there is nothing time-sensitive about most of these things and it is a duty I place upon myself. (Also, to my friends, this doesn’t mean I hate your messages. I love them, I just need to better navigate my time in-app and reduce it by 80%.)
At any rate, the screen-free time has been marvelous! I’ve read books, been bowling, broken out watercolors, acrylics, and gouache, baked cakes, foraged fruits, seen friends, kept well-up on housework, and my favorite part: texted or called my siblings whenever I think of them (which feels much more important when I haven’t pseudo-kept-up by haunting their social media).
Today I’ve got a quick recommendation for you on how to make a good jammy egg. This was a request from a subscriber. It’s not a difficult task, but it may seem like it is till you’ve tried it! All you need to make a perfect jammy egg (every time!) is a small saucepan with a lid, a 1/2” of water, and a handful of eggs.
Personally, I’m a little egg-ambivalent. Sometimes I think, “Oh, you know what sounds nice for breakfast?” and then halfway through a solitary egg I can’t take another bite or I might be sick. I’m famous for making Andrew and I avocado toast on the weekends, and suddenly scraping off the egg for him to eat, leaving me munching eggless toast. But I really do try because you’re supposed to get lots of protein, and eggs are allegedly helpful in that. Dodgy feelings aside however, in the world of eggs, the jammy egg is pretty much the most reliable egg for my appetite and my skill level. Unlike with poaching or even frying eggs, making a good jammy egg is something that even people who can scarcely boil a spaghetti noodle are perfectly capable of learning how to do.
Essentially, the best way to go about it is to steam the eggs instead of fully submerging them in boiling water! This is easier, gentler, and avoids the whole “grey-green rim around the yolk” scenario. You can adjust how long to leave the eggs in the pot in order to get everything from a soft-boiled to a hard-boiled egg without them ever going chalky, which is a nifty party trick with multiple useful properties. The difference in all these sorts of eggs is about an additional minute per stage. Thus:
soft-boiled egg: 6 minutes
jammy egg: 7-8 minutes (depending how set you want the jammy part to be)
hard-boiled egg: 9 minutes
dusty old egg: 10+ minutes
Got it? Just bring a bit of water to a simmer in your saucepan (again, half an inch will do the trick) over medium heat. When the water is simmering, carefully nest the eggs into the pot.
Quick note on egg-storage: You can add the eggs at the beginning, when you first set the pot on the stove - I tend to go this route when my eggs are coming straight from the fridge to bring them up to temp, whereas if I’m using farm-fresh eggs that stay at room-temp on the counter, I tend to add them after the water is already simmering. Tomato-tomahto. You won’t ruin the eggs in any case.
Once the water is simmering, add the lid and set a timer. For jammy eggs (the focus group!) set the timer for 7 minutes. This is usually sufficient but if you like a harder-set, go for 8. When the timer goes off, immediately drain the boiling water from the eggs and fill the pot with cold water. Maybe change the water once or twice. When the eggs are cool enough to handle (or while running under cold tap-water), peel the shells away, split your eggs in half with a sharp knife, and enjoy immediately - preferably with flaky Maldon salt. Otherwise, the in-shell or peeled eggs will keep in the fridge for a couple of days (in a container) and remain as jammy as ever. To reheat, warm them in a bowl of very hot water.
That’s about it on the jammy egg report. It’s almost unruinable, and really satisfying to learn how to make an egg this pretty, especially if you’ve never done it before. Those who are lucky enough to get ahold of local eggs with their marigold-centers will have an extra enjoyable experience. Make yourself a piece of toast. Bring out a blue plate if you have it (trust me). Split the egg open. Bask in the warm glow of the color show you’ve created for yourself. You did it, ya kitchen queen. Jammy eggs are now in your wheelhouse.