Poach an Egg Reference

A self-reference for poaching an egg. Poached eggs are fast, healthy and taste pretty darn good topped with salt, choice of pepper flakes and choice of sauce (olive oil, hollandaise sauce). Position an egg on top of bread to spread its jammy yolk, a slice of protein (prosciutto or ham) or both!

Tips for poaching eggs

Use fresh eggs as they retain their egg-like shape better for poaching.

Use a ramekin, small bowl or easy-pour cup to hold a cracked egg.

Don’t drop an egg from a height. Hold a ramekin near the water’s edge and gently slide egg into the water.

Per BBC poached eggs can keep for up to 2 days in an ice bath, as long as they stay refrigerated. To reheat eggs, poach them in water (boil water and lower the heat) for up to 60 seconds until warmed through.

Techniques for eliminating wispy egg whites

#1 – Roll eggs around in boiling water. First learned about at NYT. The pros: can poach multiple eggs, requires very little extra work and does not lose much egg white. The cons: need to very carefully lower ramekin into the water for better consistency.

Using only step 1 from the NYT article, here are the steps. Bring water to a boil. Carefully roll egg around in the boiling water for 15-20 seconds. Using a spoon remove the egg, which will be warm to touch. Crack egg into a ramekin (you may see a few white wisps present). Continue with the recipe card starting from step 3.

#2 – Pass eggs through a fine sieve. Works for even week old eggs and seems foolproof. The cons: eggs should be relatively fresh so not too much egg white is lost. An extra step means extra work for each egg.

#3 – Whirlpool method. Use a whisk to create a whirlpool and carefully slide an egg into the center. The egg white strands will hug and swirl around the body. The cons: limited to one egg and stressful to perform.

#4 – Use readily available egg poachers in stores. Examples include electronic poachers, poaching kits and silicon poachers. [6]

#5 – Hold the egg in the water while it cooks. Use a greased spoon or greased plastic wrap (drop egg into plastic wrap and twist close) to hold an egg [7]. Lower the spoon or plastic wrap pouch into the water and hold in place while it cooks. The cons: highly manual and limited to 1 egg or 2 eggs if you are highly dexterous.

#6 – Microwave the egg. There are several techniques circulating. I cannot say I thoroughly scoured for the best microwave technique. American Test Kitchen outlines one method. Cons: limited to one egg.

Why use vinegar to poach eggs?

Cooking vinegar is comprised of water and some acetic acid. For example, distilled white vinegar contains 95% water and 5% acetic acid on average. Heat and acids, such as lemon juice and vinegar, cause proteins to denature – that is the ordered structure of proteins breaks up. Since egg whites have protein (and small amounts of minerals), they denature when heated or are exposed to acid. The egg whites coagulate or turn white and set faster. Thus, eggs poached with acid keep their form better.

Do you need vinegar to poach eggs?

No. Vinegar helps maintain the shape but doesn’t eliminate egg white wisps. Eggs poached without vinegar have less chalky and more natural tasting egg whites.

How much vinegar to use for poaching?

About 1 teaspoon vinegar for 3-3.5 cups water works for me. If the facts below are correct, 1 teaspoon of vinegar for 3-3.5 cups water should bring pH levels down below 5, causing proteins to coagulate.

• Proteins deform when pH levels drop between 2 and 5 [2].
• Distilled vinegar’s pH is around 2.5 [3].
• 1 tbsp of white vinegar with a pH between 2-3 brings 1 US gallon water’s pH down from 7.5-7.7 down to about 5.8-6.0 [4].

When would you add vinegar to the water?

Standard procedure is to add vinegar after lowering the heat. As acetic acid has a higher boiling point than water (118C versus 100C), adding vinegar earlier probably does not diminish acid levels. As a fyi, acetic acid vapor can cause irritation to the eyes, nose, throat and more [5].

Do you need to salt the water to poach eggs?

Probably not, as a flavor booster maybe. The amount used, often 1-1.5 teaspoons salt per quart of water, is not enough to raise the boiling point of water, so eggs will not cook faster. According to ThoughtCo., the boiling point of water will increase about .5C (so water’s boiling point would rise from 100C to 100.5C) for every 10.2 teaspoons dissolved salt in 4.23 cups water[1]. Unless you use a lot of salt, the temperature change is miniscule.

Although salt may be used for scrambled eggs, pasta water or blanching greens, there isn’t a strong rational for its use in poaching eggs. Even 1 teaspoon of salt per quart of water potentially flavors the egg more strongly than desired.

How long to poach eggs for?

Times vary depending on amount of water, pot shape, stove power and probably other factors. Generally, most times range from 3-5 minutes.

• 3 minutes for a runny yolk
• 4 minutes for a slightly set yolk with a runny middle
• 5 minutes for a firm yolk. [7]

I usually remove around 3-4 minutes. If the egg whites are set and the yolk is firm, you can remove the egg.

Related article:

• Quick Soft, Medium and Hard Boiled Eggs Method

Equipment used

• 5.5” diameter saucepan
• Slotted spoon
• Ramekin, small bowl or easy to pour cup

References

1. Why Adding Salt to Water Increases the Boiling Point. ThoughtCo.
2. Denaturation (biochemistry). Wikepedia.
3. What Is the pH of Vinegar? Healthline.
4. How to Lower the pH of Water. WikiHow.
5. Acetic acid: general information. GOV.UK.
6. Ways to poach an egg. Egg Info.
7. Different ways to poach an egg. Egg Info.

Informational resources

• What You Need to Know About Egg Safety. U.S. Food and Drug.
• Denaturation. Chemistry Explained.
• Density, Temperature, and Salinity. Exploring Our Fluid Earth.