Cooking For Engineers

[qafruit]

I had a lot of fun this afternoon using everyone's advice on mayo-making and its secrets. I never knew it would be so easy! Can the current object of my obsession be similarly simplified?

The oil-free poached egg -- it's beyond my capacities now. I use farm freshest happy clean eggs and tip them into a cup before slipping them into the water. No matter how carefully I do this much of the white swirls away, resulting in less white in the finished product, messy water, and, once I nearly ruined an unfamiliar pan with the sticky mess (won't do that again, it was stainless steel).

The silicone cups sold to aid this process aren't technically poachers. And I picked up these funny looking devices, a cross between a handled sieve and a clawfoot bathtub, at Sur La Table, but they're not really what I want -- they require the use of oil.

How do you perfect this process?

[Dilbert]

some "whites on the loose" can't be avoided, but a couple things to try:

have the eggs at room temp - allows the white to set up faster

a little vinegar or other acid (lemon juice, etc) in the water helps set the white - not much - one teaspoon per (+/-) 2-3 cups in a shallow pan

if you have anything like the "egg rings" (for round fried eggs) put that in the pan and pour the egg into the ring to hold its shape, remove after exterior sets.

[qafruit]

i prefer keeping eggs at room temp too. finally found online some teflon-free egg rings -- they're just stainless & i'm thinking the whites might stick hopelessly. will try adding vinegar. thanks!

[Dilbert]

I have some steel cans (top&bottom cut out) that I use - you might see a little sticking but you can wipe them with a little veg oil prior to use. some of the oil will stay put long enough - remove the rings once the white starts to set up.

[jien]

another important thing - keep the water just gently simmering. this will help keep the egg whites from swirling away once you put the egg into the water.

[angelace]

I'll second the motion on adding a bit of vinegar. I never measure how much I use but a splash out of the bottle usually works well. Also back in my cooking days we would always start with room temperature eggs; they crack easier and cook more evenly. - Angela