Does the job for egg poachingThis is a good, cheap way to get your eggs poached. It's hard to get good poached eggs in the States, as most eateries make them runny (yuck). So, picked this up and it works well. Be warned, that XL and Large eggs are not the best fit, though they still worked. Use small eggs instead, but I started with XL eggs and everything came out fine, just have to finagle it a bit.
I simply get a double boiler going and place this inside. Perfect fit. I then add the eggs along with the chives, herbs, garlic and spices (sometimes I include goat milk and whip first before adding). I then put the pot lid on and let it rock for a minute. Then, if it's starting to solidify, I add a touch of Tabasco, to give it that extra wallop. The lid goes back on and I let it cook for about five minutes. My poached eggs are similar to cakes, so once they look firm, I scoop them out with a fork. Some folks like the yolk to be runny, but I like Poached Cakes. Since the cups work perfectly to cook all the...
Not suitable for large eggsProduct is non-stick as long as you use butter or some oil. Small enough to fit into a large pot, no wide saute pan needed. However, the cups are quite shallow. A single large egg completely overflows the cup by several tablespoons of egg white. The overflow runs off into the water creating needless waste and an extra mess.
Egg Cups Are Too Small for Large EggsThis egg poacher insert didn't work out for me. The egg cups are too small for "large" eggs: the egg contents overflow into the cooking water. Also, when I followed the package instructions (fill pan with water almost to top of insert, break eggs into cups, simmer 3-5 minutes), the egg centers didn't cook, even after 7-8 minutes. The nonstick surface worked well, allowing me to slip the eggs into the water to finish cooking.
Apparently I should have brought the water to a simmer before adding the insert and eggs. However, because of the inadequate size of the egg cups, my insert went into the garbage after only one use. Poaching eggs in water has always worked for me--I bought this insert because I wanted to avoid wasting the portion of the egg that swirls away when you slip it into simmering water.
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