Cooking Timer
Cooking Timer
Quick Presets
Custom Timer
Your Kitchen Assistant
Our cooking timer includes presets for common foods like eggs (soft, medium, and hard-boiled), pasta, rice, steak, and more.
Use the presets for quick access or set a custom time for your specific recipe. Audio alerts ensure you never miss when your food is ready.
Built-In Cooking Time Presets
The timer ships with one-tap presets for the foods people time most often. Tap a preset, press Start, and a progress bar plus a chime tell you when time is up:
| Food | Preset Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Soft-boiled egg | 4:00 | Runny yolk; start timing once water returns to a boil |
| Medium-boiled egg | 6:00 | Jammy yolk, set white |
| Hard-boiled egg | 10:00 | Fully set yolk; cool in ice water to stop cooking |
| Pasta | 8:00 | Typical al dente time for dried pasta — check the packet |
| Rice | 15:00 | White rice, covered, after the water boils |
| Toast | 2:00 | Medium browning |
| Steak (rare / medium) | 3:00 / 4:00 | Per side on a hot pan, roughly 2.5 cm thick |
| Popcorn | 2:30 | Stop when pops slow to 2 seconds apart |
| Pizza | 12:00 | Standard home-oven bake |
| Vegetables | 7:00 | Steaming or boiling most cut vegetables |
| Chicken | 20:00 | Always confirm 74°C / 165°F internal temperature |
How to Use the Timer
- Tap a preset, or enter minutes and seconds under Custom Timer and press Set.
- Press Start — the progress bar fills as time elapses.
- Pause or reset at any point; when the countdown hits zero the display flashes and an audio alarm plays.
Keep the browser tab open and your device volume up so the alarm is audible. On phones, disabling auto-lock while cooking helps the timer stay visible.
Why Cooking Times Vary
Presets are sensible starting points, not laws. Egg timing depends on size and whether eggs go into cold or already-boiling water; the preset times assume boiling water. Pasta shapes range from 4-minute angel hair to 13-minute rigatoni, so treat the packet time as authoritative. At high altitude, water boils below 100°C — roughly 1°C lower per 300 m — so boiled foods need a little longer. For meat and poultry, a thermometer beats any clock: 74°C / 165°F for chicken, and 52–57°C / 125–135°F for rare-to-medium steak before resting.
Beyond the Kitchen
Because the custom timer accepts any duration up to 99 minutes, people also use it for steeping tea, proofing bread checks, marinating, and timing sous-vide finishing sears — anywhere a simple visible countdown with an alarm is useful.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should I boil eggs for soft, medium, and hard yolks?+
Using the presets: 4 minutes for soft-boiled (runny yolk), 6 minutes for medium (jammy yolk), and 10 minutes for hard-boiled. These times assume large eggs lowered into already-boiling water; transfer eggs to ice water afterwards to stop carryover cooking.
Will the alarm sound if I switch to another app or tab?+
The countdown keeps running in the background tab, but browsers can throttle inactive tabs and most phones mute audio from backgrounded pages. For reliable alerts, keep the tab visible and your volume on — on a phone, prop the device where you can see the flashing Done screen.
Can I set a custom time instead of using a preset?+
Yes. Enter any combination of minutes (up to 99) and seconds in the Custom Timer section and press Set, then Start. This covers anything the presets miss, from a 30-second sear to a 90-minute braise check.
Are the preset times guaranteed to cook food safely?+
They are typical starting points, not safety guarantees. Cooking time varies with portion size, starting temperature, altitude, and equipment. For meat and poultry always verify doneness with a food thermometer — chicken should reach an internal temperature of 74°C (165°F).
Is this kitchen timer free, and does it work on mobile without an app?+
Yes. It is completely free, requires no sign-up or download, and runs entirely in your browser on any phone, tablet, or computer. Nothing is installed and no data leaves your device.