How to Boil or Poach the Perfect Egg
New to cooking? Find Out the Way to Make Boiled or Poached Eggs.
Sep 24, 2008
Eggs are a healthy, nutritious food that are great for a breakfast, lunch or tea time snack. Here are the instructions for cooking the perfect egg, either poached or boiled.
What is a Boiled Egg?
A boiled egg is a whole egg, shell completely intact, that is cooked by immersing in boiling water. It is essential to have eggs that are as fresh as possible, since old eggs will be less tasty, or may even go bad if kept for too long in the refrigerator.
Free range eggs are preferable to battery hen eggs since they taste better. This is because the hens are able to forage for more natural foods and this will be reflected in a richer taste.
If shopping for fresh food is a problem (for students, for example) this can be solved through on line shopping with home delivery.
Safety
For feeding infants under 12 months old it is important to note that runny eggs are not advisable. This is because an infant’s immune system is not yet strong enough to fight salmonella or similar bacteria. The same warning applies to the sick or the elderly.
Method
First get a small pan and half fill it with cold water. Place the egg into the cold water. The level of water should be high enough to totally immerse the egg. More than one egg may be cooked simultaneously and this will not alter the cooking time.
Bring the water to the boil and allow the eggs to simmer for 4 minutes and 30 seconds. This produces an egg that has a liquid centre and a solid white with no uncooked egg white. For hard boiled eggs, best for use in sandwiches, keep the eggs in the simmering water for 5 minutes 30 seconds.
Allow the egg to cool before shelling as this will stop the egg white coming away with the shells.
What is a Poached Egg?
Poaching is when the egg shell is broken and the contents are placed in a pan of gently simmering water to cook. The perfect poached egg has a cooked egg white with a runny egg yolk.
Method
Take a small pan of boiling water and lower the heat until the simmering is very gentle – hardly breaking the surface of the water. Add half a teaspoon of salt to the water. This helps the egg white to stay intact during cooking. An alternative is to add a teaspoon of vinegar, but this can make the atmosphere smell of vinegar.
Swirl the water to make a centrifugal effect. Carefully break the egg shell and slide the contents carefully into the centre of the pan – the centrifuge effect keeps the shape of the finished poached egg nicely rounded.
Cook in the very gently simmering water for about one minute, or until the whites of the egg look set. Leave in longer for a solid yolk. Using a slotted spoon get rid of any scum on the top of the water and then carefully lift the poached egg out of the water.
Serving the Poached Egg
For a quick breakfast or snack, serve on buttered toast and season with salt and pepper to taste. Poached eggs can also be used as a garnish on a salad.
Choice of Pans
For boiling an egg, stainless steel is preferable to aluminium since aluminium is slightly toxic to the body and tends to react with acidic substances like vinegar, lemon juice and acidic fruits. Choose a pan with a see-through lid so that you can observe what is happening to the contents.
There are pans specifically for poaching eggs in which removable non-stick mini pans, each one the size of an egg, are suspended over a reservoir for boiling water. To use these, simply butter the mini pans, place boiling water in the reservoir and then crack your eggs into the mini pan. Cover with the lid and let the water simmer for a minute until the whites are set. Remove the mini pan from the egg poacher (they usually have little handles to facilitate this) and with a knife or narrow spatula ease the egg onto your plate.
The result isn't as pretty, maybe, as a traditionally poached egg, but it is an easier method and is good where there is a requirement to do more than one poached egg at a time.
 |
 |
 |
 |
