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- Verified Buyer
We’re loving this egg poacher! It’s so nice to have a little pan dedicated for this purpose. It is fairly easy to clean, it is not Teflon, we don’t want to ingest any more of that! ? Only one negative, but even knowing it, I would still purchase this despite the following… Do NOT use the glass lid that comes with the pan. Although it is really nice to see the eggs cooking, we exchanged the glass lid for a stainless steel lid that we already had. The glass started to pop and crack the first time my husband used it. He researched further and read reviews and discovered that the lid that comes with this pan has a history of shattering during the cooking process. So, we decided, why wait for it to happen, we will just toss the glass lid and use the other lid we already have.Hopefully the manufacturer will identify the issue and change the glass type in their future products.My husband determined how long it took to poach the eggs the way we like to eat them, so it is not necessary to be able to watch them cooking. It would definitely be 5 stars if not for the glass lid issue.We were looking for a gift for our daughter and were delighted to find this item on line. My wife bought this poacher about 25 years ago at a grocery store and it has given us excellent service. Since it is stainless steel, it is easy to clean, and doesn't tarnish. It makes 5 poached eggs, which is convenient. The glass top lets you observe when the poached eggs are done to your satisfaction and it has a hole to enable steam to escape. We think it is constructed very well. Our daughter hasn't opened the package yet (but from the online description, it seems identical to the one we bought many years ago).This poacher really makes great eggs. Once I got the timing figured out, it produces perfect poached eggs with slightly gelatinous yolks. It's nice and solid and the glass lid makes it easy to check on the progress of the cooking without lifting the lid.Having said that, this thing is a total nightmare to clean. Even when I use olive oil on the cups, I spent 15 minutes scrubbing out the stuck-on egg white not just from the cups from from the pan as well. The cleanup time keeps me from using this more.was looking for stainless steel egg cups not the nasty nonstickI finally found the perfect egg poacher! Well worth the cost. With a spray of oil in the stainless egg cup, the poached eggs come out easily and leave no residue behind. Like most of you, I used the less expensive, aluminum pan with 3-egg, Teflon-coated egg poacher. Eventually, even with a spray of oil, the eggs would stick or the Teflon coating would begin to come off. That doesn't happen with this egg poacher. I've used silicone cups (which were OK but still stuck and ended up with water in them) and also cups that sit in the water (which still ended up with water inside the egg cup). That doesn't happen with this poacher. Buy this egg poacher and you'll not likely need to buy another one for a very long time!Poached eggs are a very civilized breakfast food. I use this pan for poached eggs on toast, and when I have guests, for eggs Benedict. I've uploaded a picture of eggs Benedict made using this pan. You can find the recipe by searching on "emory cottage eggs benedict."There are only two good ways to poach eggs, and one of them takes constant practice. The technique that takes constant practice involves swirling boiling water to create a vortex in the center of the pot and dumping a raw egg into the vortex. I still haven't learned to do it.This poacher is the way that works for everyone. But first, a word of warning about things that don't work. Among these are silicone pockets that you dump into boiling water with an egg in each and metal poachers with non-stick egg cups. Silicone is a great insulator, so the eggs cook from the exposed end only. The non-stick stuff eventually comes loose, leaving you with bits of Teflon in your eggs.What is needed is an egg poacher with plain metal cups, like this one. Stainless steel, like this one, is best because it's easy to care for.Poached eggs will stick to metal cups unless you put a film of fat between egg and cup. So, put a little water in the bottom of the poacher and put it on the stove to boil. Spray each cup lightly with cooking spray, then place about a quarter-pat of soft butter in each cup and thoroughly grease the inside of the cup, all the way to the rim, by spreading the butter around with your index finger. (You can use more cooking spray instead of butter, but you still have to spread it around with your finger.) Break an egg into each cup.When the water is boiling, put the egg cups in the tray and cover the poacher. You will need to experiment with the cooking time because it will vary depending upon altitude, taste, and the whims of Chaos. Start with 3-1/2 to four minutes. When the desired time is up, remove the poacher from heat and lift the entire tray out of the pan and onto a plate. This egg poacher has nifty little insulated handles on each cup. Don't forget that these nifty little handles are hot as blazes because they've just been steamed for over three minutes. Be careful!The only criticism I have has already been mentioned by others. The handle is spot-welded instead of riveted. Mine's still attached after two years, but you'll want to treat it gently. The spot welded handle is why I rated it four stars instead of five. Also, five is a distinctly odd number for poached eggs. It probably doesn't matter because four's enough for an elegant and romantic breakfast for two.
