Eggs are nutritious and versatile making them a great addition to any meal – whether it be breakfast, lunch or dinner.
While they tend to be easy to fry, boil, and scramble, the cooking process is more complex when it comes to poaching them.
Many people struggle to get a poached egg just right, with a firm white that contains an oozy, golden yolk, all in a perfectly rounded shape.
White vinegar is one ingredient that’s often used to aid the cooking process but according to one food scientist, there’s more to it than just adding a splash of the acidic condiment.
Sharing her advice on Instagram, food scientist and blogger Sarah (@halfbatchbaking), revealed how to “perfectly poach an egg”.
In the video, Sarah demonstrated her own tried and tested method which she crafted based on her knowledge of food science.
She started by adding one tablespoon of vinegar to four cups of water in a jug and set this aside.
The food blogger suggested that lemon juice can be used instead, but the step shouldn’t be skipped because “egg whites coagulate better in acid conditions”.
Moving onto the egg itself, the Instagram content creator then took a small bowl and sieved one egg over it to separate the loose whites, known as the outer albumen, from the thicker section close to the yolk.
The next step was to add the water and vinegar solution to a saucepan full of almost boiling water (around 93C) set over medium heat on the hob.
Sarah then used a ladle to transfer the sieved egg before lowering it into the water.
She explained: “It’s best to use silicone but if using stainless steel or ceramic, lightly grease the ladle or the egg will stick.”
To avoid any breakage when dropping the egg in the water, the food expert recommended gently lowering the ladle and holding it in place for four to six seconds before tilting it to free the egg.
It should then slip off into the water as one whole egg rather than with wilted, wispy whites.
Turn the hob down to low and leave to cook for two to three minutes for a soft yolk, or three to four for a cooked yolk.
Those sensitive to the flavour of the vinegar in the water can gently rinse and pat the egg dry after it has been cooked.
