Gato

Home / Food / Eggs / How to Poach Eggs



How to Poach Eggs...

(30/9/2001)

This is a little e-mail exchange I had with Colin Rainsforth after he and his partner, Steph gave me some of their delicious home grown hen's eggs in April 2001.

Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2001 10:24:09 +0100 To: Paul Mackilligin From: Colin Rainsforth Subject: Re: eggs

Hi Colin,

...I had an omelette this morning - fried quickly in plenty of sunflower oil and sprinkled with a little sea salt.

How can I describe the taste?... like eating warm sunshine. Those are the best eggs I've tasted in a very long time.

Cheers!

Paul

-------------------

Paul,

I note from your web site that you have had trouble making poached eggs.

I find most shop bought eggs tend to disintegrate into the kind of 'egg soup' you describe. This is normally because the eggs are a little less than fresh by the time they reach the shop and (more often) because the hens which layed them are in less than perfect health.

However our hens are allowed to roam free, are fed on organic layers' pellets and their eggs could not be fresher. As such they are much firmer and more suitable for poaching.

If you want to give it a try I tend to put about 1 - 1.5 inches of water in a saucepan, bring it to the boil and then turn the heat down so that it is still good and hot but not bubbling. Then break the eggs straight in and start the toaster. When the toast pops up the eggs should be ready.

Bon appetite!

Colin

P.S. By the way, I mentioned this to Steph and she tells me that she also spins the boiling water with a spoon and cracks the egg into the middle. The centrifugal force holds the egg white together during the first crucial seconds and it starts to cook. I gave it a try and can definitely recommend it.

--------------------

Back to "Fried or boiled?"





Copyright © 2001 Paul Mackilligin