How To Poach An Egg

I love eating eggs because it's rich in nutrients that are good for the body. Aside from scrambled eggs, I love my eggs either boiled or poached. I heard that boiled or poached eggs are better than scrambled/fried because you don't use cooking oil. So I tried to poach my eggs once in a while. Since you do not need butter or oil, poaching is a very healthy way to prepare eggs. The perfect poached egg will have a nice undisturbed yolk surrounded evenly by a shiny opaque oval of egg white. Presenting the perfect poached egg is a guaranteed way to impress a breakfast or brunch guest, but it can be tricky to master. Here's how to do it.

Steps

1. Set a saucepan to boil that is about two-thirds full of water.

2. Add a dash of white vinegar (while it's not absolutely vital, it helps the egg's appearance - the vinegar coagulates the egg white turning it into a perfectly poached egg). Any other vinegar apart from white vinegar (balsamic, red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar) will stain the eggs and likely add an undesirable flavor.

* The fresher the eggs, the better they poach. An egg straight from the chicken will poach without any need for vinegar.

3. Crack an egg into a ramekin, small bowl or soup ladle.

4. Spin the boiling water to cool down the water before you drop in the egg. You will want to bring the water to a temperature of about 160-180ºF (71-82ºC).

5. Carefully lower or drop the egg into the center of the whirlpool. Make sure that you do not drop the egg into boiling water (100ºC/212ºF), as this will toughen the eggs and make them unpalatable.

6. Wait 3-4 minutes until cooked.

7. Remove with a slotted spoon. Work quickly to transfer each egg onto the plate, letting excess water drip back into the saucepan. Poached eggs should be served as soon as they are pulled from the water. Poached eggs get cold quickly, and cold poached eggs are decidedly less than perfect.