Five Ways To Cook Eggs Perfectly Every Time

Key points

• Eggs are quick, cheap and easy to cook, so the video argues they are worth keeping in the fridge. 0:00
• Fried eggs cook best on medium heat: add butter, crack the egg in, add a few drops of water and cover with a lid so the steam sets the white without overcooking the yolk. 2:24
• For hard-boiled eggs, bring the water to a rolling boil slowly, take the pan off the heat and cover it, then move the eggs straight into an ice bath once they reach the desired doneness. 3:24
• Scrambled eggs need low heat, a butter start, and a rubber spatula pushing the eggs from the outside in, with the pan taken off the heat slightly before they look done. 1:01
• Poaching works best in a big pot of hard-simmering water: stir a whirlpool, drop the cracked egg into its centre, and wait until no translucent white remains. 4:31

What you need

• Nonstick skillet — A good nonstick skillet with no scratches
• Rubber spatula — For pushing eggs and not using metal utensils
• Salt and pepper — For seasoning the scrambled eggs
• Butter — About two tablespoons to start, plus one tablespoon cut into cubes for scrambled eggs

Steps

• 1. Make scrambled eggs: Cook eggs in melted butter on low heat, stir from the outside in once the edges set, and add cubes of butter near the end before removing from the heat. 0:55
• 2. Cook a fried egg: Add butter to the pan on medium heat, crack in the egg, add a few drops of water, cover with a lid and cook for a minute or two. 2:42
• 3. Boil eggs and chill them: Bring eggs to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, take off heat, cover and wait 4 to 16 minutes, then move them to an ice bath. 3:36
• 4. Poach an egg: Use a big pot at a hard simmer, stir a whirlpool, slide the egg in as it slows, then blot it dry. 4:25

Things to notice in the pan

• Fried egg with steam bubbles — A fried egg with a bright yolk and a white with small bubbles around the edge of the pan.
• Soft-boiled egg cut open — Two halved eggs; the right one has a deep orange, runny yolk.

Questions to check yourself