MAKING POACHED EGGS. Eggs properly poached make a very attractive breakfast dish, but the poaching should be well done in order to have the dish attractive and digestible. The food value of a plain poached egg is, of course, identically the same as that of a soft-cooked, a hard-cooked, or a raw egg. Eggs are usually poached in a shallow pan, although egg poachers are to be had.

To poach eggs in a shallow pan, pour into the pan sufficient water to cover the eggs that are to be cooked, add a teaspoonful of salt or of vinegar for each pint of water, and bring it to the boiling point. Remove the pan from the flame or reduce the heat so that the water will cease to boil. Break the eggs, one at a time, into a saucer and then slide them carefully into the water. Do not allow the water to boil after the eggs have been added, as boiling toughens the egg white and in addition causes considerable loss by tearing it into shreds. When the eggs are set, remove them carefully from the water and season them with salt and pepper. A convenient way to remove the eggs is to use a large spoon that has holes in the bowl for draining off the water. The salt or vinegar is added to the water before cooking in order to solidify the albumen and keep it in a mass.

An egg poacher contains a perforated section of metal just large enough to hold an egg. In poaching eggs with such a utensil, the perforated part is placed over a pan of boiling water; then the egg is carefully slid into it, and allowed to poach. Eggs prepared in this way are really cooked by steam and are found to be very satisfactory.

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