Customer Reviews

HIC Harold Import Eggsact Egg Timer

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've had this egg timer for years and loved it. It took away the worry about getting the eggs hard-boiled correctly: not still-sticky soft nor overdone with the green ring (which doesn't hurt anything but looks suspect!) So now that my daughters are making their own deviled eggs to take to family dinners and potlucks, I went looking for this same timer online. The poor review by another owner prompted me to share my own experience. Keep the instruction card so you'll remember to start the eggs and timer together in warm water, not boil them but bring them just under a full boil, and then when the timer turns purple, cool them immediately in cold water. It's worked for me every time, and that's been many times!

I love this timer. I make hard boiled eggs and we always forget to time them. I just start them in cold water, bring them to a boil, turn off the burner and look at the timer once in a while. Once it's all dark - their ready to go - time for the cold water to stop the cooking. Without the timer, I leave them in hot water way too long and I get the green circle around the yolk - which doesn't hurt anything - but why wait longer than you have to. One thing is - if you get extra large eggs the timer will be done before your eggs. I suppose if you get small eggs - it won't be done soon enough. The timer seems to be the size of a large egg.

I was a little skeptical when I bought this timer but I do eat a lot of hardboiled egg whites, and figured it was worth a few bucks to see if it worked.

I will preface by saying that I live less than 100 feet above sea level. I read the reviews about people at 6500 feet having problems, frankly I'm not surprised. While this might compensate from sea level to a few thousand feet, a mile and beyond you really can't expect miracles from something that's, in the end, a $7 piece of plastic.

The main problem I faced was variable cooking times when I was making between 2 or 8 eggs. Also, there's a sweet spot when they're done and you can peel them right away under cold water and the shells stick to the membrane and slip right off in two big chunks, no fuss no muss. I can shell 8 eggs in less than 90 seconds with no loss of egg white when I'm in the sweet spot, and it's frustrating when I would miss it.

So, when I got this thing, I was hoping for the best but expecting only moderate improvement over previous timing attempts.

I was really impressed. It took a few trys to get it "right." By right, I mean where I wanted it. I think a lot of people forget that even when you take the eggs off the flame, there's heat inside the egg and they continue to cook (carry over cooking). So you need to allow for that a bit. If you are only into the eggwhite portion like I am, it makes it even easier because if the yolk is a little runny or a little overdone, it's not a big deal, it's going in the bin.

After 4 or 5 runs though, I have it perfect. I know exactly when to take them off and get them into ice water and begin shelling. I've never had any issue with plastic, fiberglass, epoxy or resin flavors, smells, smoke, etc. I think many of the issues other reviewers are having is that they are using a high flame rolling boil. Friends, water boiling is 212 degrees F. Making it boil harder doesn't make the temperature go up, and it doesn't decrease cooking time. A nice gentle simmer is all you need to cook your eggs. That should reduce the conductive heat on the bottom of your pan, which should elimiate the problem of your plastic egg timer melting and burning. Also, put plenty of water into the pan. Cover the eggs by at least an inch, preferably more. User a much bigger pot than you think you need. Reason being, all that water has "inertia," and once it's hot will maintain that heat more steadily throughout the cooking process. It's like a thick cast iron skillet vs a thin cheap steel pan.

If you're a body builder or athlete who wants to get lots of egg white protein, this little gadget is worth the money. It takes up minimal room, requires minimal clean up. Typically I don't like to buy kitchen items that only have a single purpose or use, but this little guy is worth it!

A note on the inclusion of vinegar to prevent cracking and/or prevent leaking in the event of cracking. I've tried this before, and don't feel the need to do it. Here's my process. Empty pot. Put in timer and eggs, flat on the bottom. Fill with water, at least 1 inch coverage. On stove, medium-high heat to steady simmer, bubbles no bigger than fish eyes. Reduce heat to medium if it starts to run away (cook tops and altitudes vary). Following this method, you shouldn't have any cracking or leaking eggs. The vinegar inclusion idea is really more applicable when making poached eggs, where there is no shell, and you want to keep the liquid egg contents in a small bundle, as opposed to dispersing throughout your simmering water, in which case it really does work.

I have owned the eggsact eggtimer for YEARS and LOVE it. No more forgetting to set the timer when the eggs begin to boil. I just put the eggs in cool water with the timer and turn on the heat. When the timer is purple I pour out the hot water and cool the eggs immediately. Perfect eggs - every time!!!

I like my eggs hard boiled to the center and this little timer does the trick. I am not sure how accurate it is for people who like medium or soft boiled eggs, but it's the perfect timer for those of us who prefer their eggs hard done.

My husband put this in my stocking one year, and I don't know how it works, but it always make perfect hard-boiled eggs every time! I have already given away about 6 more of these as gifts to other people because I love them so much. I'm not sure how well it works for soft-boiled eggs, since I don't like those, but it's great for hard-boiled.

Maybe you don't care how your eggs are cooked but for those who do care, this little timer is the real deal. Just put it in the water along with the whole (in the shell) raw eggs...the timer gradually develops a shadow of darkness corresponding to the graph lines indicating the degree of "doneness" of the egg...it is wonderful.

I have had my Hammerhad Eggsact Eggtimer for years and I love it!!! Takes the guess work out of boiling eggs. I am ordering a couple more for when I'm doing two pots of eggs and an extra one just in case!!! Wouldn't want to be without my eggsact eggtimer!!!
HIC Harold Import Eggsact Egg Timer

I haven't seen one of these in my town, Raleigh,NC. I bought several after trying one myself and gave them to all my girlfriends. Mine probably got thrown away accidentally and I just couldn't do without it.

When using this item, pay attention to when it goes all to purple for lovely hard boiled eggs with no green. Ignore it and you'll be sorry! Very acccurate reading. Love it.