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It has come to attention recently that my blog might be giving you lovely readers the mistaken impression that I'm quite 'hot stuff' in the kitchen, a bit of a pro if you will. Some people have even gone as far to say that I am intimidating! I'm uncertain as to how and why this has happened. I can only assume that I have done a poor job of telling you about my many culinary mishaps and grossly exagerrated all the good bits. Believe me, I'm just like you - a person with a healthy appetite for all that is tasty and good in the world, daring and challenging myself to take my cooking to the next level and swallowing my pride (and, ignoring my taste buds) when it all goes wrong.
Tonight, I have the perfect example for you: I attempted to poach an egg for the first time in my life. The first time - surely, that is proof enough?! In fact, I only just ate a poached egg for the first time in my life a couple of weeks ago. Cooked for me by an experienced egg-poacher, it was perfection in the form of an egg, everything that I could want - healthy, mess-free (there being no shell to peel) and deliciously runny. I even liked the way that it wobbled in a suggestively breast-like manner...
Alas, my egg neither wobbled nor ran. The yoke was hard (clearly over-cooked) and the white bit looked like a bit of froth coughed up by sea. It was as if the yoke had decided to grow a frizzy afro - not a good look if you're a poached egg. Don't get me wrong, it was edible and tasted reasonably good. But, it was far from the perfect poached egg I had eaten just weeks before. I have no idea what I've done wrong since it is so simple to cook - you drop the egg into boiling water with a splash of vinegar and then simmer for about 5 minutes with a lid on. It's a no-brainer! But, I will definitely give it another try and I'm confident that I will master this. Any tips would be most welcome!
So, there you have it - poached eggs a la Fran! You can all rest well in the knowledge that you have nothing to fear from me. Well, unless I've served you poached eggs...
Tonight, I have the perfect example for you: I attempted to poach an egg for the first time in my life. The first time - surely, that is proof enough?! In fact, I only just ate a poached egg for the first time in my life a couple of weeks ago. Cooked for me by an experienced egg-poacher, it was perfection in the form of an egg, everything that I could want - healthy, mess-free (there being no shell to peel) and deliciously runny. I even liked the way that it wobbled in a suggestively breast-like manner...
Alas, my egg neither wobbled nor ran. The yoke was hard (clearly over-cooked) and the white bit looked like a bit of froth coughed up by sea. It was as if the yoke had decided to grow a frizzy afro - not a good look if you're a poached egg. Don't get me wrong, it was edible and tasted reasonably good. But, it was far from the perfect poached egg I had eaten just weeks before. I have no idea what I've done wrong since it is so simple to cook - you drop the egg into boiling water with a splash of vinegar and then simmer for about 5 minutes with a lid on. It's a no-brainer! But, I will definitely give it another try and I'm confident that I will master this. Any tips would be most welcome!
So, there you have it - poached eggs a la Fran! You can all rest well in the knowledge that you have nothing to fear from me. Well, unless I've served you poached eggs...
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Think about this, how long would you boil an egg?
ReplyDelete3 minutes if you like it runny, 5 minutes will give you a hard boiled egg. that's your 1st problem.
Secondly, you don't need to put the lid back on to cook the eggs.
Thirdly, once the water is boiling, put the vinegar in, then with a wooden spoon stir the water to create a funnel, break your eggs into the centre. They will look nicer when cooked.
A tip for you. If you are having your eggs with toast, as soon as you put the eggs in the water, put your toast on. Once you have buttered your toast, take your eggs out, they should be just right. I hope this helps you :)
I have made over three successful poached eggs in a long carer which has stretched out over several decades. (One in each decade to be precise).
ReplyDeleteTiming is paramount. Don't, for example, attempt to poach an egg when you are on a train or in a bustling crowd. This is poor timing.
Another tip is that you should use the vinegar wisely. Don't just tip it in without thinking. Think what you want the vinegar to do for you, and what you can do for the vinegar. Then check yourself in to some kind of clinic for the terminally bewildered, as I have just done.