Topic: Why?

[telboy]

--- is vinega added to poached eggs?
(makes them taste awful in my opinion)

[Obelixx]

It helps set the albumen for  a tidier egg with less traily strings of egg white.  If you can taste the viengar, you're using too much.

A good tip is to put the whole egg, in its shell, in the simmering water for about 20 to 30 seconds then remove it and let it cool.   You get a much neater egg when you then crack it into the water to poach.

[gazza1960]

Have not used vinegar for poaching in years since I came across these silicon poachers @ a craft fair...they produce a tasty egg.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eddingtons-Silicone-Eggshell-Egg-Poachers/dp/B001FAT2O4?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen&qid=1259015552&sr=8-2

ok those aside......if you must poach in fluid you want to boil a chcken stock cube in tap water, bring to the boil....
take a metal ladle and crack the egg into it....slowly dunk the ladle into the fluid...as the ladle heats the exterior of the egg will turn white all around the edges..now release the egg into the water....it should not break apart....but poach for 3 to 4 mins in the fluid.

I like to toast the bread and season IT with salt & pepper,then lay the egg on top.....lunch time treat...and no vin  !!!!!!!!

[pumkinlover]

Will try this, Thanks Gazza.
Agree with Telboy, but maybe I used too much vinegar, for the information

[Ellen K]

Poached eggs are a thing for me too but I'm rubbish at cooking anything so as always I went to Delia for advice.

To poach in water, the egg must be fresh.  Fresh eggs hold together in the water, supermarket eggs are often 3 weeks old, even the ones well in date.

Water must be only just boiling, so that you can just see a few bubbles on the bottom.  Use quite deep water

With water quite still, crack egg into side of pan and drop contents in to water.  Leave for a minute or so to set on gentle heat.  Then go in there with a wide scraper spatula and lift it off the bottom.

Boil gently for a little while longer then spatula in to get the egg out and dry it on kitchen paper.

Enjoy!

But the most important thing is a fresh egg.  If it explodes as it hits the water it is not fresh ..... time to get the frying pan out.

[InfraDig]

I agree with Gazza. Silicon pockets are so easy. We got ours in Sainsburys.

[telboy]

Thanks all for your inputs. I only brought the point about vinegar up as we stayed in a hotel over the holiday period and ordered poached eggs for brekkie but the vinegar spoiled the taste so changed to scrambled. At home I never have any problems as the eggs are so fresh!

[kt.]

I always use vinegar.  A splash in the pan of similar quantity as if it were going on a bag of chips  (mmmmmm),  boil and serve.  Never tasted the vinegar in all the times I have made them.  (Always do them in our house because as good a cook as the OH is, she just can't do poached eggs and is the one thing always passed to me   

[antipodes]

I have never tried to poach an egg by actually cooking it in water! My mum used to have a cool poaching pan with a plastic holder for the eggs and the pan of water underneath, dunno where that went. Now if I really want a poached egg which is not often, I lightly butter a bowl or ramekin, plop the egg in it then put the ramekin in shallow water on a pan and simmer gently until the egg is cooked.