Skip to main content

Video: This ‘new’ way to poach eggs might be the best (and simplest) ever

Learn how to poach your eggs to perfection

Since their appearance in the 13th century medieval French cookbook, Le Viandier, poached eggs have served as an aristocratic dish. According to the lifestyle platform Cult.fit, the term ‘poached’ originates from the French word ‘poché,’ meaning small pouch or pocket. This sophisticated method of cooking essentially steams the egg to elicit a subtle, almost perfect delicacy — cooked, almost crispy white surrounded by a lush, runny yolk. Be it breakfast, lunch, or dinner, poached eggs serve as the perfect main dish and addition to many, many meals.

Achieving this culinary delight, however, takes practice and a skilled hand. Fortunately for us, many of these masters are available online. Today, The Manual takes you through Epicurious’ “incredible new way to poach eggs that never fails.” Via Chef Adrienne Cheatham, we will show you how to perfectly poach an egg at brunch-level quality in less than five minutes.

Related Videos
The Incredible New Way to Poach Eggs that NEVER Fails | Epicurious 101

How to make poached eggs

Whether or not to add vinegar is something that breakfast enthusiasts have hotly debated, but as you can see, Cheatham is a fan. She notes she uses white distilled vinegar because it has the right level of acidity, and also notes that as long as you only soak the eggs for about 10 minutes, they won’t pick up that vinegar taste.

Cheatham also cautions against a classic poached egg technique — swirling your water to create a vortex when the eggs are cooking — if you’re cooking three or four eggs at a time. She notes that this only works when you’re cooking one at a time (and who has time for that?)

Ingredients

  • Three to four eggs
  • One cup white distilled vinegar
  • One cup water
  • Salt and pepper

Tools

  • 3 to 4 quart pot
  • Steel ladle
  • Slotted spoon

Method

  1. Pour one cup of water and one cup of vinegar into a mixing bowl. Mix.
  2. Crack the eggs into the solution, making sure to swish the dish to keep eggs separate and the solution evenly applied.
  3. Soak eggs for about 10 minutes to set the egg whites. Finished, denatured eggs will appear opaque.
  4. Fill your pot with about three to four inches of water.
  5. Bring to a bare simmer. There should only be faint bubbles at the bottom and steam rising from the top.
  6. Take your ladle and carefully scoop each egg and a little solution into the heated water, leaving room between each separate egg.
  7. Cook each egg for two to three minutes, checking for a soft yolk inside a set egg white.
  8. When eggs are finished, remove from the dish with a slotted spoon, pour off excess water, blot on a fabric towel, and serve on a plate.
  9. Season with a sprinkle of salt and a couple of cracks of pepper.
  10. Serve alone, over toast, vegetables, meat, or any combination of the three.

Get ready for some accolades on your new skills serving one of the most famous and sought-after delicacies over the last several hundred years.

Editors' Recommendations

These foods high in melatonin will help you sleep better
Get a better sleep naturally by eating these 9 melatonin foods
Hands holding wine grapes.

Getting a quality night's sleep becomes more and more of a challenge as we age. Some of us have tried blackout curtains, sleep masks, weighted blankets, or any number of supplements promising better rest. If you're looking for an all-natural solution, though, melatonin is the way to go. Melatonin is a hormone produced naturally in the pineal gland in the brain. Among several functions, melatonin plays a key role in regulating the body’s circadian rhythms, or sleep-wake cycles. Accordingly, the pineal gland produces more melatonin when the sun goes down, and levels dip at daybreak. Foods high in melatonin or even melatonin supplements are a popular way to increase the concentration of melatonin and possibly improve the quality and quantity of sleep.
Melatonin supplements are typically non-habit-forming and safe for adults and children in doses of around 0.5 to 5 milligrams. However, melatonin supplements may cause drowsiness, nausea, and dizziness, and they can interfere with certain medications.

Fortunately, if you’re looking to support your body’s own natural melatonin levels but you don’t want to rely on supplements, there are several sleep-aid foods that contain melatonin. Adding any of these foods high in melatonin to your dinner plate or bedtime snack routine may help regulate your sleep patterns over time and help you get more restful sleep. Though little nutritional data exists about the specific concentration of melatonin in different foods, the following foods are known to be particularly high in melatonin.

Read more
The 8 best protein shakes that are ready-to-go
These shakes come with all the good stuff, and none of the crap
Svelte

With as busy as we have become as a society, we always seem to be on the go. This can make life challenging, especially when it comes to wellness goals. In a perfect world, you could hit the gym hard, crush a workout, then immediately refuel with a balanced, home-cooked meal. But, since life happens and we are always on the go, it’s not always feasible to take the time to actually cook up a muscle-building meal right after your workout. Whether you’re on the go and short on time, or just can't stomach a full meal after exercising, having a quick and easy, protein-packed option that doesn’t require kitchen time, is a helpful alternative to refuel your body and maximize your results.

This is where protein shakes come in handy. Numerous ready-to-drink shakes are available that provide muscle-building protein, vitamins, minerals, and calories to fortify your body after a workout. They offer the benefits of protein powders with the convenience of eliminating the need for a shaker bottle, or high-speed blender, let alone making a mess with powders. Simply give the bottle a quick shake, pop the top, and you’re good to go.

Read more
This is the major change coming to Toblerone chocolate
Stripped of its "Swissness," Toblerone is getting a new look
toblerone chocolates new packaging

Toblerone, the nougaty, triangular chocolate bar we all know and love, will be getting a modern makeover later this year. US owner of the popular candy bar company, Mondelez International, has decided to relocate some of Toblerone's production a few countries over to Slovakia, stripping the chocolate of its "Swissness."
Under Swiss law, established in 2017, a product that's advertised with marks such as the Swiss flag, any references to Swiss cities, or, in the case of Toblerone, the Matterhorn mountain, must meet very strict origin criteria. The Swiss powers that be established this law to protect the prestige and reputation of genuine, high-quality Swiss-made products, including, of course, its chocolate.

While much of Toblerone's production will remain in Switzerland — even amping up by the end of the year — the strict laws dictate that it can't be considered a Swiss product anymore unless manufactured there exclusively.
Because the candy will now be partially produced elsewhere, it will no longer be allowed to advertise with any "Swissness," including the iconic Matterhorn logo. The label will also shift from reading “Swiss chocolate” to “Established in Switzerland in 1908” instead.
Reportedly, the hidden bear in the current mountainscape design will remain, but no word yet as to how prevalent it will be.
In a statement reported by CNBC, Mondelez International says that the Toblerone new logo will have a “modernized and streamlined mountain logo that is consistent with the geometric and triangular aesthetic.”
We think we speak for most when we say we couldn't care less what the box looks like. Just make sure it tastes the same.

Read more