Making hard-cooked eggs is almost as easy as boiling water, once you know the pitfalls. Cooking eggs too long or too vigorously can result in cracked shells, tough whites, and green gray, sulfury-smelling yolks. Our gentle method is consistently effective — and the trick of pricking the egg's end makes removing the shell nearly as easy as peeling a banana.

1. Gently prick the wide end of each egg with a pin. Prick just through the shell without piercing the membrane.

2. Place the eggs in a single layer in a saucepan. Add enough water to submerge the eggs 1 inch, then bring the pot, uncovered, to a boil. As soon as the water boils, remove the pot from the heat, place the lid on top, and let the eggs sit for 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, fill a bowl with very cold tap water. Once the 10 minutes have passed, use a slotted spoon to transfer the eggs to the water.

4. When the eggs are cool enough to handle (after about 5 minutes), they are ready to eat. To peel, tap the wide end of the egg against a hard surface to crack the shell, then roll the egg to break the shell all over. Peel away enough of the shell from the wide end so that you can get your fingers underneath what remains. Remove it in large pieces, then rinse any bits of shell off the egg and pat dry.