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rusty- poached eggs are, in theory, dropped (minus shell!) into a pan of shimmering water (boiling would make a right mess). My mother had a 2 part pan, the bottom one containing boiling water. Another part fitted into it with 4 depressions for eggs (which needed butter not to stick). The eggs took about 5 minutes to set with a lid over them. These are also called poached. My toaster has a poaching attachment on the side; I can make toast and poach an egg (same principle as my mother's poacher) at the same time! Very useful.

elle, where have you been all your life ? (smiley). Leonardo, Donatello, Michaelangelo and Raphael are fighting turtles. I have even made a cake of Leonardo's face. They all wear masks and have scary weapons, I think including numchuku or 2 weighted short stick things joined by a chain.

My grandson's homework (normal state school) was to write 5 sentences about owls including 5 different conjunctions. He's 7!! I wouldn't have known what a conjugation was if it bit me at that age. My 90 year old friend says he still doesn't!

Purists would say that eggs that aren't cooked in contact with water aren't poached (coddled, perhaps?) However all recipes for poached eggs in water start with "make sure that your eggs are very fresh". Well, if you don't keep your own hens, how on earth would you know?

P.S. we do ours in little egg-sized containers set over simmering water in a specially designed "poaching pan" (a bit like 4 individual bain-maries)

Dear me, chrise, you tell if eggs are fresh by 1. the sell-by date (haha)-though if you read the blurb you can tell the age near enough- but 2, putting them (gently!) in a jug of water. They sink quickly flat on their sides if really fresh and as time goes on rise up more. This is to do with the air sac.
If you crack one onto a plate, the yolk of a fresh egg is tight and the yolk kind of sits up in the white. The more it sinks the less fresh it is. I've also found the less runny the (raw) white, the better. As often as I can I buy eggs laid by Chestnut Marran hens but that does mean Tescos.

I've tried that, rosalind. Either I'm doing it wrong, or I've never had a fresh egg!

I suspect that no eggs bought in a shop are fresh enough for the test, unless it's a farm shop and they were laid that day or the day before. I sometimes look after a neighbour's hens and thus collect (and date) the eggs every day.
If really fresh eggs are hard-boiled, they are impossible to shell! The white comes off with the shell. When lucky enough to have eggs from my neighbour, I make omelettes.
In the mid 1960s I won £300 in a Good Housekeeping competition about eggs!

Yes, that's what I suspected!

Ros, I haven't a clue about Leonardo and his mates...
I'm very good on conjunctions though!

And you can buy special containers in which to poach eggs in the microwave!
Try googling this!

See my earlier post, elle - "poach" eggs would be more accurate!

Hello, Elle!
Miss ATW has just left!
She brought me a nice gift.
A DVD of "La La Land"!
I am very pleased... but...I do not have a DVD player!
Granddaughters!!!
Rosalind has explained who Leonardo is, so that's fine.
The programme was called "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles".
It was popular, I am astonished you have not heard of it!
You will have to get out more often!
"Cole"! I never thought of "Old King", just "Nat"!
I shall wait a while before I try the "poached" eggs.
Seems to be a few different methods I can use!