Thursday, October 12, 2006
Eggs in the (lime)light
This method sounds a lot easier than the traditional simmering-water technique. I wonder if the shell is less hot, making the egg easier to peel? I can definitely see this innovation making its way into a nifty little home appliance. The new-generation egg cooker! On a nostalgic side note, I always loved the electric egg cooker my mom had, where you added a little water to the bottom, pricked the egg using a little spike in the center, then placed the egg in a tray to soft-steam. Mmm. Then she would serve them in these funny little cups.
2 comments:
Dear Chefty,
Do you have some advice on cooking hardboiled eggs so that the whites are cooked but the yolk is runny?
Much obliged,
Cooky-Monster
Cooking soft-boiled eggs has always involved a lot of guesswork in my experience. Your note inspired me to do a little experimentation to see if I could come up with a foolproof method.
First, I tried my usual method of simmering a saucepan of water and gently dropping the eggs in. I took the first egg out after three minutes, and the second after five minutes.
The white of egg #1 was semi-solid, and the inner white was still runny, as was the yolk. Mixed with a dab of butter and salt, its taste and texture reminded me somewhat of egg-drop soup. Tasty. But gooey.
Egg #2 was your textbook soft-boiled egg. Firm white with a yolk that had just started to gel but was still largely runny.
Next, I cooked two eggs in a steamer basket over simmering water. I took out the first egg after 5 minutes and got the same result as Egg #1. I left the next egg in for about another two minutes. This one was a bit more hard-cooked, the yolk was very soft but semi-solid and only slightly runny.
On a final note, soft-boiled eggs, though seemingly quick & easy, are a labor of love. Peeling them is not easy! Should you discover a good trick for this, I'm all ears. I know that if you use older eggs, they're easier to peel, but...doesn't seem right to eat runny eggs if they're not fresh.
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