14 June 2024 , 04:00
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Perfecting the poached egg is no easy task - but these simple steps could save you from a kitchen nightmare.
From overly runny, to disappointingly solid, it can take years to master the art of poaching an egg. Though, this influencer claims her 'fool-proof' hack will take your full English to a whole new level - and it takes just a matter of minutes.
Posting to TikTok, food blogger 'Sarah' unveiled she simply uses a stainless steel ladle - the kind that's handy for serving hot soups, sauces or stews. Believe it or not, she claims there's a whole science behind this too, which may even beat typical microwave methods.
"Here's how to perfectly poach an egg in a stainless steel ladle and the science behind it," she explained on her @halfbatchbaking platform. She added: "The unique properties that make stainless steel corrosion-resistant also make it a poor conductor of heat.
"This in turn, leads to uneven heating and may resolve in hot spots of certain areas causing the eggs to stick. It also appears to have a smooth texture, but it actually has microscopic bumps and grooves that food can get stuck in. So, here's how to properly use a metal ladle."
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First, Sarah recommends preheating the ladle by holding it over boiling water that's bubbling on the hob. After a couple of minutes, a small amount of oil should be poured into it.
Although she doesn't specify what oil, Cookist, another blogger, claimed olive oil is a game-changer for flavour. Sarah went on: "Hot oil is less viscous than cold and it will flow better, getting in those grooves."
The blogger then proceeds to crack her egg over a sieve, letting the raw whites drain through the gaps and into the ladle, before popping the yolk in afterwards. This is then submerged into the pot of boiling water to cook.
"The hot oil will start to denature (breakdown) the proteins in egg whites," she also added. "As the proteins breakdown they bond to each other going from a liquid to a solid. The hot oil prevents the proteins from bonding to the atoms in the metal, which is what causes the egg to stick to the ladle."
Sarah claimed the egg should be submerged in the ladle for around five or six seconds, or until it looks visibly set. Then, the ladle needs tilting gently, to release the egg into the hot water.
Usually, it takes up to three minutes for the eggs to cook, but Sarah recommends two-and-a-half for a deliciously runny yolk. She concluded: "It should easily slip out and you'll be left with a perfectly poached egg."
Sarah's method has since garnered countless comments on TikTok, with various users also keen to try out the hack for themselves. One wrote: "I think this video will finally allow me to poach an egg," as others chimed in: "Oh I love this poached eggs approach." And a third added: "It's one of the most rounded poached eggs I've ever seen."
What do you think? Let us know in the comments...