A poached egg is an egg

Egg (food)

Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...

 that has been cooked by poaching

Poaching (cooking)

Poaching is the process of gently simmering food in liquid, generally milk, stock or wine.-Utilization:Poaching is particularly suitable for delicate food, such as eggs, poultry, fish and fruit, which might easily fall apart or dry out...

, that is, in water.

Preparation

The egg is cracked into a bowl of any size, and then gently slid into a pan of simmering

Simmering

Simmering is a food preparation technique in which foods are cooked in hot liquids kept at or just below the boiling point of water , but higher than poaching temperature...

 water and cooked until the egg white

Egg white

Egg white is the common name for the clear liquid contained within an egg. In chickens it is formed from the layers of secretions of the anterior section of the hen's oviduct during the passage of the egg. It forms around either fertilized or unfertilized egg yolks...

 has mostly solidified, but the yolk remains soft. It is quite common for a small pat of butter

Butter

Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...

 or margarine

Margarine

Margarine , as a generic term, can indicate any of a wide range of butter substitutes, typically composed of vegetable oils. In many parts of the world, the market share of margarine and spreads has overtaken that of butter...

 to be added to the container for the egg, to prevent the egg sticking to its container. The 'perfect' poached egg has a runny yolk, with a hardening crust and no raw white remaining.

Fresh eggs will yield the best results. Broken into simmering water, the white will cling to the yolk, resulting in cooked albumen and runny yolk.

To prevent dispersion of the white of the egg, a small amount of vinegar

Vinegar

Vinegar is a liquid substance consisting mainly of acetic acid and water, the acetic acid being produced through the fermentation of ethanol by acetic acid bacteria. Commercial vinegar is produced either by fast or slow fermentation processes. Slow methods generally are used with traditional...

 may be added to the boiling water. Stirring the water vigorously to create a vortex

Vortex

A vortex is a spinning, often turbulent,flow of fluid. Any spiral motion with closed streamlines is vortex flow. The motion of the fluid swirling rapidly around a center is called a vortex...

 may reduce dispersion. Special pans, with several small cups, allow a number of eggs to be poached at the same time. Other methods of producing poached eggs, such as using cling film

Plastic wrap

Plastic wrap, cling film , cling wrap or food wrap, is a thin plastic film typically used for sealing food items in containers to keep them fresh over a longer period of time...

 to keep the egg perfectly formed have been documented.

If the eggs are at room temperature, the cooking time is 2 mins 30s to 2 mins 40s. If the eggs are taken from a refrigerator, then a longer time of about 3mins is required. Dipping the eggs into cold water for a few seconds immediately after taking them out of the boiling water helps prevent over-cooking.

Alternatives

The term is also commonly, but incorrectly, applied to an alternative method whereby the egg is placed in a cup, suspended over boiling water, using a special pan called an "egg-poacher". This is usually a wide-bottomed pan with an inner lid, with holes containing a number of circular cups that each hold one egg, with an additional lid over the top. To cook, the pan is filled with water and brought to a boil. The outer lid holds in the steam, ensuring that the heat surrounds the egg completely. The cups are often lubricated with butter in order to effect easy removal of the cooked egg, although non-stick egg poachers are also available.

The result is very similar to the traditional coddled egg

Coddled egg

In cooking, coddled eggs are gently or lightly cooked eggs. They can be partially cooked, mostly cooked, or hardly cooked at all...

, although these steamed eggs are often cooked for longer, and hence are firmer. Eggs so prepared are often served on buttered toast.

Dishes with poached eggs

Poached eggs are used in Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict is a dish that consists of two halves of an English muffin, topped with ham or bacon, poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce.-Origin:There are conflicting accounts as to the origin of Eggs Benedict, including:...

 and Eggs Florentine.

Poached eggs are the basis for many dishes in Louisiana Creole cuisine

Louisiana Creole cuisine

Louisiana Creole cuisine is a style of cooking originating in Louisiana which blends French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Greek, Asian Indian, Native American, and African influences, as well as general Southern cuisine...

, such as Eggs Sardou

Eggs Sardou

Eggs Sardou is a Louisiana Creole cuisine dish made with poached eggs, artichoke bottoms, creamed spinach and Hollandaise sauce. It is on the menu of many Creole restaurants in New Orleans, including Antoine's, where Eggs Sardou was invented, and Brennan's...

, Eggs Portuguese, Eggs Hussarde and Eggs St. Charles. Creole poached egg dishes are typically served for brunches.

Several cuisines include eggs poached in soup or broth and served in the soup. In parts of central Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, for instance, a popular breakfast item is eggs poached in a scallion/coriander broth with milk, known as changua or simply caldo de huevo ("egg soup").

The Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

n dish Shakshouka

Shakshouka

Shakshouka is a dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, chili peppers, onions, often spiced with cumin. It is believed to have Algerian and Tunisian origins.-Etymology:...

 consists of eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce.

In Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 poached eggs are typically seasoned with grated parmigiano reggiano

Parmigiano Reggiano

Parmigiano-Reggiano , also known in English as Parmesan , is a hard granular cheese, cooked but not pressed, named after the producing areas near Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, and Bologna , and Mantova , Italy...

and butter (or olive oil).

External links

• Mr. Breakfast: How do I make a poached egg?