How to Make Perfect Poached Eggs
Are you a breakfast eater or do you sometimes find yourself skipping one of the most important meals of the day? Apparently 47% of us skip breakfast regularly during the week! Farmhouse Breakfast week wants to Shake Up Your Wake Up and aims to encourage the nation to eat a regular healthy breakfast! The week is organised on behalf of UK cereal farmers and producers. I received a lovely hamper of healthy breakfast treats which I look forward to sampling. To follow the various activities taking place you can use the #BreakfastWeek if you’re on Twitter.
We wouldn’t expect our cars to run without petrol so I do believe we really should take the time to have breakfast to fuel ourselves for the morning ahead. There have been many reports in the news about teachers noticing their pupils (who’ve skipped breakfast) flagging and having poor concentration. Then are adults who think that they will lose weight by skipping breakfast but small healthy meals/snacks are better for your body. You’re more likely to have an unhealthy snack later if you miss a healthy breakfast. Breakfast eaters have more energy, higher concentration levels and are less stressed – you owe it to yourself to eat breakfast!
The best breakfast to have is one that isn’t overloaded with sugar so for example 2 slices of white toast with marmalade will give you a sugar high which will then come crashing down to leave you feeling tired and hungry all of a sudden. So on occasions when I have toast I’ll opt for wholemeal with my home made jam on one slice and some marmite or cheese on the other slice to have a balance. It’s much better to have whole grains and oats are particularly good as they release their energy slowly. Avoid sugary cereals for your children and opt for plain whole grain ones where you can add a little soft brown sugar if needed.
At the weekends it’s nice to make something for breakfast that during the week you just don’t have time for. My family’s favourite weekend breakfast isn’t anything fancy but just good old fashioned poached egg on wholemeal toast. It ticks all the boxes for a healthy breakfast and doesn’t contain any sugar so no danger of an energy low before lunch time.
I’ve made poached eggs so often that my family now say I’m an expert which I will take! I recently watched a famous chef giving a cookery demo and he was all full of the theory which included iced water at the end but his egg went solid much to the disappointment of the awaiting crowd! So if you want a no hassle “recipe” that just works then follow the steps below. If you are using smaller eggs then allow for that in the timing. It’s all trial and error really to find what works best for you!
Vinegar stops the eggs going stringy!
For more breakfast ideas on my site click here or go to Shake Up Your Wake Up where you will find a whole host of recipes and further information.
Disclaimer: I was not paid for this post but received a hamper of breakfast goodies from the Wake Up Your Shake Up campaign.
Perfect Poached Eggs on Toast
Ingredients
- Eggs large
- 2 – 3 glugs of white distilled vinegar about a tablespoon, though I've never measured
- Buttered wholemeal toast
- Salt
Instructions
- Fill a frying pan with 3.5cm of boiling water from the kettle (energy efficient).
- Add the vinegar and bring back to the boil.
- Break the egg into a ramekin/small bowl and gently lower the egg into the water tipping out gently, continue with the number of eggs required.
- Time the eggs for 3 minutes to have a cooked white and a runny yolk. If you prefer yours firmer just increase the time by a minute.
- Using a slotted spoon, place your eggs onto a couple of sheets of kitchen roll to blot away any residual water.
- Place on buttered toast and serve with a sprinkle of salt or ketchup if desired.
Recipe Notes
The vinegar is vitally important to enable the egg to keep its shape and not spread whilst cooking!
I’d love to try these. I practice but they never look quite right.
Do try this method and let me know if you have a better outcome!
Delicious, can’t beat it, especially on a lazy Sunday morning !
Poached eggs are absolutely amazing.
Important to have a good breakfast.
I always struggle with poached eggs no matter what I try!
I would love to know the science behind why the vinger works.
I see two eggs in your pan, is this possible due to the vinegar alone and did you spin the water around when you dropped them in?
thanks
There’s no spinning involved just a shallow pan of water with the eggs lowered/tipped slowly into the vinegar water which lets them keep their shape:-)
Oh I love poached eggs but can never get them quite right – will have to try this method!
Do let me know how you get on:-)