How to poach eggs 101: Poachpods vs old school

I am utterly hopeless at poaching eggs.

Runny fried eggs I can do. Soft velvety scrambled eggs a la Bills is easy. But I'd rather make a shark cake than be entrusted to make poached eggs for breakfast.

So when the kind folk at Kitchen Warehouse offered to send me some poachpods to try out, I had to the laugh at the appropriateness of the suggestion.


Product Road-Test: Poachpod

What is it: a silicone cup that can be used for poaching, baking or moulding.

Instructions say to lightly oil the pod before cracking an egg into it and floating it in a saucepan of simmering water. You are then instructed to cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and cook for about 4-6 minutes.

My saucepan doesn't have a tight-fitting lid so my makeshift version was a bit too big and hence the steaming effect was not quite as efficient. Cooking time was about 7 minutes which felt like an eon when it comes to breakfast.

The pod was removed and a spoon was used around the edge of the cooked egg. It slid out beautifully and was perfect in form.


Old School Method

Okay, surely the old school method is a lot faster and cheaper too? Buoyed with confidence I added a splash of vinegar to the saucepan, created a whirlpool and dropped in another free-range egg for poaching. Cooking time was significantly faster but the result was nowhere near as pretty.



The Taste Test

The poachpod egg was stronger in flavour since no water had come on contact with the egg. However it was also much firmer in texture since it cooks slowly from the outside in.

The old school method was quite soft in texture, but also a bit more watery - however I'd been lazy and not bothered with the whole blotting with kitchen towel palaver. The egg was a lot smaller since I lost a lot of egg white in the wispy trails that refused to come to the party in the middle. The egg yolk was lovely and runny though, which is how I tend to prefer my eggs.

The Verdict

- Takes longer to cook your eggs than direct immersion
- Harder to make runny poached eggs, unless you cooked the whites partway then added the egg yolk later
- It's one more thing you have to wash up
+ You can throw it in the dishwasher
+ Guaranteed uniformity and prettiness in appearance
+ No need to use kitchen towel for blotting
+ Ideal for people who like firm poached eggs
+ Great idea for poachaphobics

What else can you do with it?

The poachpod is non-stick, dishwasher safe, microwave safe and heat resistant to 675ºF / 357ºC.

Suggestions include using it to bake custards, frittata and creme caramels. You could also bake mini cakes or muffins, or use it to mould chocolate or puddings.

How much does it cost?

The recommended retail price is AU$19.95 but Kitchen Warehouse is selling it online for AU$15.95 (P+H AU$7.50)

Would I buy one?

Probably. My poaching technique still requires some work. I envision I'll poach using both methods until I had mastered the proper immersion technique.