Product Review: Silicone Egg Poachers

I love the clean, pure egg taste of poached eggs but never can quite get the egg to stay together in the simmering water. I usually end up with small strings of egg white floating throughout the water like old rags along with a blob that is the rest of the egg. I've tried hard plastic microwave egg poachers but the taste and texture of the egg isn't the same.

About a month ago I ordered a pair of silicone egg poachers from King Arthur Flour's website. With a bit of practice they do a good job. Using a piece of paper toweling, I lightly coat the interior of each silicone cup with butter. Then crack an egg in each and gently place them in simmering water. On my first try the egg didn't seem to be cooking after several minutes so I placed a lid on the pan. The lid helped cook the egg but I ended up with a great deal of condensation in each egg cup and, consequently, the eggs were watery. On my second try I just waited a bit longer and after six minutes or so the eggs were perfect. They come up out of the cups easily by running a small spatula around the edge. The cups clean well with soap and water.

A- for extended cooking time