Here are 3 awesome ways to make the perfect poached egg

When it comes to frying egg, the age old style of cracking the shell against the hardest surface and splashing it in the pan seems to have become a norm.

Fried eggs are delicious, of course, but poached is the healthier option.

So how do you perfect this notoriously tricky method to make firm but creamy whites and runny yolks?

Well, here are some tried and tested popular poaching techniques to find the best way to get them eggsactly right.

Egg rings

Method: Brush the inside of the rings with a little oil and place them in a small frying pan. Pour in just enough water to cover the base by a few millimetres, and then bring to the boil. Crack the eggs into the rings, cover the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes until done to your liking. Carefully run a knife around the edge of the eggs and lift off the rings.

Result: The white leaks out from underneath the ring at first, but eventually most of it stays put. Produces a perfectly round egg with a soft yolk, but the white is rubbery and some of it is lost through leakage. Great if you need your eggs to look like ones on a burger chain breakfast muffin.

Microwave

Method: Half fill a very small bowl or cup with boiling water, crack in an egg (it must be fully submerged) and cover with cling film. Cook on high for about 30 seconds, then flip the egg over and cook for 15 seconds more.

Result: Quick and reasonably simple, produces a neat white with no scraggy bits. Microwaves vary, so a few eggs will probably need to be sacrificed to get the timing right. The texture of the whites and yolks are slightly inconsistent and a bit slimy.

Silicone egg pods

Method: Generously brush the inside of the pod with oil and crack an egg in. Fill a small lidded pan 2cm deep with water and place the pod inside. Bring the pan to the boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Instructions say to simmer for 4-6 minutes, or until done to your liking. Run a spoon around the egg and then pop it out.

Result: Cooking takes longer than the instructions suggested – about 7 minutes – but practice might improve this. The yolks are good and runny but the whites are rubbery, like those cooked with the rings. There is a knack to easing the egg out of the pod, but it eventually slips out nicely. A neat, round shape.