I used to do this but actually I've started to get the water to a rolling boil and timing it just right from there.

6 - 7 minutes produces an egg where the yolks are not runny but are also not chalky and brittle. They have a creamy texture and deep orange colour. This on toast.

That's for soft boiling, surely? Hard-boiled eggs are usually left in for longer. What I do for mine: put in cold water, place on medium heat until water begins to boil (~9 mins), deactivate hob and leave for 12 mins, rinse with cold water, dry and place in fridge, leave for 12-18 hours at least. When ready to eat: peel off shell, remove skin that's left near the air pocket, stuff in piehole.

(They're fine to eat immediately after boiling, of course, with the warmth making them actually quite tasty - but it's risky. Until they've done their time in the fridge, they're often difficult to peel and/or they'll have a lot of hard-to-remove skin left on them once peeled.)

Your method is what I was doing before I started steaming them recently, though I generally let them stand in the hot water for a couple minutes longer. If doing this, older eggs are much easier to peel. You might also try peeling after just 5 minutes in an ice bath.

Steaming them makes even the ones done with new eggs easy to peel, and they cook without an air pocket in my recent experience.

After a quick search for photos of various stages of "cooked" this page has both the method I had been using (cold start, bring to boil, turn off, let stand 10-15 minutes, cold bath) and what I'm doing now with steaming (steamer at temp, add eggs, steam 10-12 minutes, cold bath).

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_perfect_har...

A little more than soft-boiled, but far from green-tinged yolks; this way the egg isn't runny but still soft and golden butter-like, not yet chalky. Water takes about 2-3 minutes to boil (gas). Cooking room-temperature eggs, not refrigerated, room temperature is about 20-22C.

Why on earth do you put them in a fridge for 12-18 hours? Serious. Are you at a catering company that does these in mass?

Try peeling it under water or with flowing water on the egg. It makes the shell / skin peel off super good for me and doesn't cool the inside of the egg down either.

Use white vinegar in your water to help make the shell easier to peel.

Soft-boiled eggs don't seem to be cooked enough to kill salmonella.

The FDA's advice is to "cook eggs until yolks are firm".[1]

[1] - https://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm077342...

I think salmonella from a UK egg is incredibly rare now. Pregnant women are advised not too but they're advised to eat well done steak too:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25154046

All UK chickens are vaccinated against salmonella. Not sure if it's an EU-wide practice but it's universal in the UK.

Yes. The lion stamp means that effectively. I think it was a national initiative: Edwina Curry took the rap. In all the EU stuff slung about lately, eggs never get mentioned.

Unusual action for a conservative, however.

FDA guidance is good for not getting poisoned. When you know how to cook/eat or appreciate someone that does, it is already redundant.

How do you make mayonnaise then?

I don't. But when mayo is made, one could use pasteurized eggs. Then the mayo should be safe from salmonella. I believe this is what is generally done when mayo is made commercially in the United States.

Ancient chef secret:

For perfect hard boiled eggs place the eggs in cold water, some white vinegar, place on high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat once it boils and time for exactly ten minutes.

Remove and peel.

Perfect hardboiled eggs.