Soft, medium and hard boiled eggs

Bring a pan of water to the boil; set a sieve in it to hold the eggs, and ready a container of icy water.

Soft-boiled: 2 and a half to 3 and a half minutes in boiling water; then straight into an egg cup, not into water.

Medium-boiled: 5 and a half to 6 and a half minutes in boiling water; then plunge into icy water.

Hard-boiled: 9 to 11 minutes in boiling water, 11 for fully cooked, 9 or 10 for more tender; then plunge into icy water.

Lower the eggs gently into the boiling water in the sieve, set a timer for 11 minutes and lift them one by one; here 3, 6 and 10 minutes were used.

To eat a soft-boiled egg: dunk mouillettes - bread with butter and a little salt and pepper - into the yolk.