Fried and poached eggs

Why

Egg white has two parts, a thick one around the yolk and a thin one at the edge; during storage carbon dioxide escapes from the egg, the white becomes more alkaline and the thick part thins, so an older egg spreads into a thin sheet in the pan or in water. Egg white proteins start to set at around 60 °C and the yolk a little higher, so a runny yolk with a set white calls for gentle heat: in a very hot pan the edge of the white dries out, browns and crisps into lace before the thick layer next to the yolk has set. A fried egg is therefore cooked over low to medium heat, and the rest of the white is finished by steam under a lid or by basting with hot fat. For a poached egg the water should only simmer gently, because boiling tears the egg apart, and vinegar with salt in the water speeds up setting of the surface, but replaces neither freshness nor draining the thin white through a sieve. A runny yolk can carry salmonella, which is why young children, pregnant women, older people and people with weakened immunity should eat eggs with a firm yolk and white.

How to do it

• Use the freshest eggs you can for both poached and fried eggs, and crack each one into a bowl first so any shell can be fished out.
• Fry eggs over low to medium heat in hot fat; if the yolk should stay runny while the white next to it sets, cover the pan with a lid for a minute or two.
• For a crisp edge use higher heat and baste the white near the yolk with a spoonful of hot fat; make sure the edge does not blacken.
• For a poached egg, let the cracked egg drain in a sieve for 20–30 seconds so the thin white runs off, and slide it into water with vinegar that is only simmering gently.
• Cook it for about 3–4 minutes until the white next to the yolk is set and white, then lift it out with a slotted spoon and let it drain on a cloth.
• For young children, pregnant women, older people and people with weakened immunity, fry eggs on both sides or under a lid until the yolk is set too.

If it goes wrong

Trim a ragged poached egg of its wisps of white with scissors or tear them off with a spoon, and next time drain the egg in a sieve first. Cut off the rubbery brown edge of a fried egg and lower the heat next time. Finish a white that is still glassy next to the yolk under a lid over low heat, or carefully turn the egg. Free a fried egg stuck to the pan with a thin spatula only once the white has set; next time heat the pan with the fat well beforehand.