Fans of poached eggs know how difficult they are to get exactly right and certain guidelines exist to cook them perfectly.
However, one Michelin star chef is advising budding cooks to completely ignore the long-standing method of placing the raw eggs in boiling water that also contains a drop of vinegar.
The step is widely linked to poached eggs and is possibly the most popular way to cook them, as it is said this keeps the raw egg intact while cooking. But an owner of a fine dining restaurant has explained why you should ditch the acid for good.
Paul Foster, owner and operator of Salt located in Strapford-upon-avon, has taken to social media to share an easy way to poach eggs without the need for vinegar. The professional has formed this method from years of industry experience
The cooking master says that not only is vinegar not needed to poach eggs, but it also ruins their taste and texture, reports the Mirror. In a viral video posted on his TikTok profile @paulfosterchef he said: "I was shown, when I was a young chef, to use vinegar but I’ve learned a better way. This is the better way."
The chef began with a pan of water which he heated on a stove and warned: "Do NOT add vinegar. Whatever people tell you, you do not need it." Next, he added a pinch of salt to the water and picked up an egg, which he insisted should be as "fresh an egg as possible", and should be at room temperature.
Paul's tip for cracking an egg was to crack it into a sieve in order to "get off any watery bits on the white", and he urged people not to put it into the water until it was boiling. He then turned the water to just under a boil and instructed the audience to give the pan a quick stir.
The chef added: "Give it a stir, you don't need to whisk it and create a vortex. The stir just helps it to move so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan."
He said that this way the "protein can set … and [the egg] just curls up lovely."
Once the egg was in the water, Paul then turned the hob down so the water was just under a boil and set a two-minute timer, as although he said the time wouldn't be enough to fully cook the egg, he always likes to "check it before".
The chef also insisted that while the egg is cooking it was important to "give it a little look" and not walk away from the pan, as he emphasised the importance of not letting the water get back to a boil.
He added: "See how the water is not boiling. There's no vinegar in there, it's not gone all scummy and it's not going to taste like c**p."
After two minutes, Paul checked his egg and claimed it wasn't quite done, so continued to cook it for another 30 seconds, during which time he stressed: "Don't be tempted to turn it up and start boiling it."
The chef then took his egg out of the water and drained off the excess water on a paper towel, which he said was important as it would stop anything you put the egg on - such as toast - from going soggy.
Paul cut into the egg to show it was cooked to perfection and revealed it had a delicious and runny yolk, as he said: "That is a perfectly cooked runny yolk, and a nice soft white. You can't get better than that."
The chef ended his video by insisting that you don't need to try any tricks to make the perfect egg.
He explained: "You don't need a microwave, you don't need one of those stupid egg poachers. You just need a pan with some water, with no vinegar in it. Just a little bit of salt."
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