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Poached Eggs III - Mrs Beeton - "The Ye Olde"

Blog: Norfolk Single Dad
Posted by: Eddie2sox Monday 26th November 2007, 9:29pm
Last edited 26/11/2007 9:29pm by Eddie2sox

The legendary Mrs Beeton enters the frayÂ….

Did you know that Mrs Isabella Beeton died when she was just 28 years old? Didn’t think you did. I for one have always imagined this buxom matriarch of the kitchens, gliding around huge country house kitchens dishing out advice and criticism in equal measures. And although the official cause of her death was fever, it is rumoured she died of syphilis passed on by her husband? Yuk.

So to the recipe. If you can navigate your way between all the advice on the ideal age of egg to use, and how to use tin egg poachers, this is a perfectly acceptable method, but the fact that the yolk and white ended up cooked differently is weird. Maybe the over-the-top amount of vinegar has something to do with it?

You can find this recipe here : http://thefoody.com/mrsbcheese/poachedeggs.html

Ease & Effort:

2.5 - The actual instructions for the cooking of the egg were simple enough, but hidden amongst flowery 19th century prose. Being told to “place some” boiling water in a pan isn’t all that helpful, and the instruction to add one tablespoon of vinegar per pint of water was much more than the other two recipes tested so far. And as Mrs Beeton says “To poach an egg to perfection is rather a difficult operation.” A mid-table effort from the olden days.

Presentation:

3.5 - This again looked the biz, but in the picture you can‘t really see the runny white or the “started to harden” yolk. The addition of the line “cut away the ragged edges of the white” helped the overall shape but adds another possible “I’m gonna break this sucker before I hit the toast” moment.

Yolk:

1.5 - Slightly overcooked in a few parts, but still generally nicely runny and very tasty.

White:

1.5 - Too runny. Now how can the white be undercooked and parts of the yolk be overdone?

Scores On The Doors

Old Bob - 11.5

Rick Stein - 10.5

Mrs Beeton - 9

Running Order:

4 - Ainsley Harriott

5 - James Martin

6 - Vash The Stampede

7 - Mahalo

8 - Poached Egg Machine

9 - Delia Smith

10 - Mr Breakfast

11 - Australian Egg Board

12 - Woolpack Wally

Send Me Your Comments!

New this time - YOUR chance to participate in the world’s best blog-based cooking/tasting eggy competition. The Welsh Rarebit thread prompted loads of comments and emails, and I wish I’d shared some of them with you. So. Email me at trix68@hotmail.co.uk or leave a comment on the blog.

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