To Poach Eggs
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Bring a pot of water to a boil.
Carefully lower the egg into the water.
Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer.
Cook
Cook the egg slowly until the white is set but the yolk remains runny.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Protein in the white sets with gentle heat, forming the poached body while the yolk stays liquid.
- Water
- Transfers heat evenly around the egg, cooking it gently without breaking the surface.
The step that matters
Keep the simmer gentle. A rolling boil agitates the water and tears the delicate egg white apart before it sets. Holding a gentle simmer lets the white coagulate slowly and evenly around the yolk.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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