By Linda Garrould · Updated 5 June 2026
A large, fridge-cold egg lowered gently into already-boiling water takes 6 minutes for a perfect dippy egg — a runny yolk with a fully set white, ready for soldiers. Jammy for ramen or brunch? 7 minutes. Fully hard, 9. And for egg mayo sandwiches that are firm but never chalky, 10. Set the timer below, prop your phone against the kettle, and we’ll tell you when the soldiers go in.
Prefer yours poached? The poached egg timer is next door — pan, microwave or air fryer.
House method: lower gently into already-boiling water. Cooking four or more? Add 30 seconds and don’t crowd the pan.
The boil-time chart: how long to boil an egg, by UK size
The timer above and the chart below use the same numbers, so you can pin this to the fridge door and never look it up again. All times assume fridge-cold eggs lowered into water that’s already boiling — that’s the method that gives repeatable results, because “simmering for a while” is different in every kitchen, but a rolling boil is a rolling boil everywhere.
| UK egg size | Dippy | Jammy | Hard | Egg mayo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small (under 53g) | 5:00 | 6:00 | 8:00 | 9:00 |
| Medium (53–63g) | 5:30 | 6:30 | 8:30 | 9:30 |
| Large (63–73g) | 6:00 | 7:00 | 9:00 | 10:00 |
| Very large (73g+) | 6:30 | 7:30 | 9:30 | 10:30 |
A note on why our times look longer than some you’ll see elsewhere: the classic “3-minute egg” assumes a room-temperature egg, often a smaller one. Most British kitchens keep eggs in the fridge, and a fridge-cold large egg genuinely needs those extra minutes. We’d rather give you the time that works than the time that’s traditional.
Poaching rather than boiling? Our poached egg timer covers the pan, the microwave and the air fryer — timed for the same large, fridge-cold egg as the chart above.
How long for a dippy egg? Proper eggs and soldiers
The dippy egg — runny golden yolk, white completely set, soldiers standing by — is the one worth getting exactly right, because the margin between glorious and disappointing is about sixty seconds. Here’s the method:
- Put a medium pan of water on to boil. Enough water to cover the eggs by about 2cm — too little and the temperature crashes when the eggs go in.
- Get the toast on standby. Thick-sliced bread, toasted while the eggs cook, buttered properly, cut into fingers about as wide as your thumb. The soldiers should be ready the moment the eggs are — not the other way round.
- Lower the eggs in gently with a spoon once the water is at a rolling boil. Dropping them in is how shells crack.
- Start the timer the moment the eggs go in. 6 minutes for a large fridge-cold egg; check the chart above for other sizes.
- Straight into egg cups at the bell. No resting, no ice bath — a dippy egg keeps cooking in its shell, so it goes from pan to cup to table. Take the top off with a knife or a teaspoon, season, and send in the soldiers.
Jammy eggs: for ramen, salads and brunch
A jammy egg — 7 minutes for a large egg from the fridge — gives you a yolk that’s set at the edges and fudgy in the middle. It’s the egg for ramen, grain bowls, asparagus spears in spring, or halving onto buttered toast when a dippy egg feels like too much ceremony. Unlike a dippy egg, a jammy egg does want a minute in cold water to stop the cooking, especially if you’re peeling it. If you like this style of egg, try it with our British asparagus risotto with crispy fried soft-boiled egg.
How long to boil eggs for egg mayo and egg & cress sandwiches
The sandwich egg has its own timing, and it’s not the same as “hard”. For egg mayonnaise or egg and cress you want a yolk that’s fully set but still rich and slightly soft at the centre — 10 minutes for a large fridge-cold egg. Push past that and the yolk turns dry and crumbly, which is where chalky egg mayo comes from.
Once they’re cooked: straight into a bowl of cold water for ten minutes. This stops the cooking, prevents the grey ring, and makes peeling far easier. Tap each egg on the worktop at its wider end first — there’s an air pocket there — and peel under a trickle of cold water.
For classic egg mayo: roughly one tablespoon of mayonnaise for every two eggs, a pinch of salt, white pepper if you have it, and mash with a fork — some texture is the point, so stop before it’s a paste. Add a punnet of cress for an egg and cress that tastes like the picnics of childhood. It belongs in a school lunchbox as much as on a picnic blanket.
How long to boil an egg from cold water
Some households swear by the cold-start: eggs into the pan first, cold water over the top, then onto the heat. It works, and it’s gentler on the shells — the trade-off is that “time to the boil” varies with your pan and your hob, so the timings only start when the water reaches a full rolling boil. From that moment, for a large egg: about 3 minutes for dippy, 4 for jammy, 6 for hard and 7 for egg mayo. If you want repeatability, the boiling-water start is the better habit; if you want fewer cracked shells with very cold eggs, cold-start has its case.
How long do hard-boiled eggs last?
The two UK authorities give slightly different figures, so here are both. British Lion eggs’ guidance (egginfo.co.uk) is that hard-boiled eggs keep in the fridge for up to a week in their shells, and that a peeled egg should be eaten within one day. Food Standards Scotland gives a more cautious figure: hard-boiled eggs keep up to 2 days in the fridge, with or without the shell. In both cases the egg goes into the fridge once cooled, and the shell stays on until you’re ready to eat — the shell is the egg’s own packaging.
Troubleshooting: cracked shells, grey yolks and stubborn peeling
Cracked shells usually mean the egg went into the pan too enthusiastically, or the boil was furious rather than rolling. Lower eggs in with a spoon, and once they’re in, you can ease the heat back to a strong simmer — the temperature is the same. A pinprick in the wider end releases the air pocket and helps too.
A grey-green ring around the yolk is the signature of an overcooked egg — it’s a harmless reaction between iron in the yolk and sulphur in the white, and it happens when eggs cook too long or cool too slowly. Stick to the chart and get hard-boiled eggs into cold water promptly and you’ll never see it.
Eggs that won’t peel are almost always very fresh eggs — the white clings to the shell membrane when the egg is only a day or two old. Eggs closer to their best-before date peel far more easily, so save the freshest ones for dippy duty (no peeling required) and boil older ones for sandwiches.
And altitude? You may read that boiling times need adjusting at altitude. At UK elevations the difference is too small to taste — this is a chart for Britain, and Britain is conveniently close to sea level.
While you’ve got the fridge open: we’ve covered whether you can freeze cheese and how long butter keeps in the freezer in our kitchen library.
Dippy egg questions, answered
How long should I boil an egg for dippy soldiers?
6 minutes for a large fridge-cold egg lowered into already-boiling water. Small eggs need 5 minutes, medium 5½, very large 6½. If your eggs live at room temperature, knock 30 seconds off.
Do you put eggs in boiling water or cold water?
Either works, but timings differ. Into boiling water is more repeatable: 6 minutes dippy for a large fridge-cold egg. From a cold-water start, begin timing only when the water reaches a rolling boil, then allow about 3 minutes for dippy.
What’s the difference between a dippy egg and a jammy egg?
A dippy egg (6 minutes, large) has a fully runny yolk for dipping soldiers. A jammy egg (7 minutes) is set at the edges and fudgy in the middle — the one for ramen, salads and halving onto toast.
How long do you boil eggs for egg mayo?
10 minutes for a large fridge-cold egg into boiling water — fully set but not dry. Cool in cold water for ten minutes before peeling, and the yolks stay rich rather than chalky.
How long do hard-boiled eggs last in the fridge?
British Lion eggs’ guidance is up to a week in the shell, and one day once peeled. Food Standards Scotland advises up to 2 days, with or without shell. Cool the eggs, keep the shells on, and refrigerate.
Why do my boiled eggs have a grey ring around the yolk?
It’s a harmless iron–sulphur reaction caused by overcooking or slow cooling. Cook to the chart and cool hard-boiled eggs in cold water promptly and the ring won’t appear.
More from our kitchen timers: planning a Sunday lunch? Our roast chicken timer works out the cooking time by weight, runs a resting timer, and builds a timetable backwards from the moment you want to sit down — so the whole meal lands on the table at once.