How Can I Tell If an Egg Is Hard Boiled Without Breaking It?

A simple trick can determine whether your egg hard boiled or raw.

A cooked egg and a raw egg look the same when in the shell, but their differences matter in your kitchen. Crack an egg open to find out the hard way if it is hard-boiled. Or test an egg for doneness with a flick of your wrist. Perform a common science experiment, using your kitchen counter as your "lab" to determine a culinary necessity.

Instructions

1. Examine the egg in question by holding it. Feel its weight of the eggs. Smell and shake the egg, suggests the Everything ESL website.

2. Lay the egg on its side. Spin it rapidly.

3. Stop the spinning egg with the pressure of one finger. Quickly release your finger. A raw egg will keep spinning, because the fluid inside keeps the egg in motion, and will be a bit wobbly when spinning. The solid interior of a hard-boiled egg will stop spinning.

Tips & Warnings

• Put your cooked eggs in ice water once removed from the cooking pot to stop the cooking process.

• Overcooking can cause a green layer to form around the yolk.

References

• Steve Spangler Science: Amazing Egg Experiments
• Everything ESL: Science Experiments with Eggs
• What's Cooking America: Boiled Eggs
• Naked Scientists: How to Tell if Your Egg is Raw

Resources

• Incredible Egg: Basic Hard-Cooked Eggs