Hard-boiled chicken egg

Lower a large egg into gently boiling water and cook for about 10–12 minutes, then cool it promptly in cold water. This stops the cooking and makes the shell easier to peel.

Very fresh eggs often cling to their shells. Cooling the cooked egg in cold water and cracking the shell all over before peeling under a trickle of water can help.

Keep it refrigerated, either in its shell or peeled in a covered container, and eat it within a week of cooking. Don’t leave it at room temperature for more than two hours.

Freezing the whole egg is not a good choice: the white becomes rubbery and watery when thawed. Cook only what you can use, or freeze a dish made with chopped egg if its recipe is suitable for freezing.

Slice them into a salad, mash them with mayonnaise and a little mustard for egg sandwiches, or use them in Scotch eggs and devilled eggs. They also make a quick topping for toast or a jacket potato.

A medium egg provides roughly 6 g of protein; per 100 g, hard-boiled egg contains 13 g. The white supplies most of the protein, while the yolk contributes fat and flavour.

Usually, because boiling adds no cooking fat. The amount in a fried egg depends on how much oil or butter is used in the pan.

Discard it if it smells unpleasant or looks unusual after peeling. A greenish ring around the yolk is usually harmless; it forms when the egg is overcooked.