Basic Techniques for Cooking With Eggs

Eggs are one of the most versatile cooking ingredients. They are easy to get hold of wherever you live and are a key ingredient in most national cuisines. No matter how bad a cook you are, you can learn how to cook eggs using a few easy techniques. Having the basic skills to cook egg recipes like scrambled eggs, boiled eggs and poached eggs gives you an opportunity to modify them into thousands of uncomplicated, quick nutritious recipes.

Here's how to make basic egg recipes:-

1. How to Boil an Egg
Boiled Eggs are nutritious and can make a fast and simple meal. For most people, a soft boiled egg with toast soldiers is the supreme comfort food.
To soft boil and egg to dip toast in, first remove your eggs from the fridge and let them sit for a short time to bring them up to room temperature. Heat some water in a pan and, when it is just boiling, use a spoon to drop the eggs into the pan cautiously. Simmer for just one minute then take them off the heat, set a lid on the pan and stand for 6-7 minutes. Some people like their eggs more runny than others, so experiment with the timing to get the results you prefer.
In the case of hard boiled eggs, simmer the eggs in the pan, on the heat, for roughly 7 minutes and then instantly take from the pan and immerse in cold water for a minute or two. Leave eggs to cool in a bowl of ice cold water.
Hard boiled eggs are wonderful for taking on picnics or for mashing with mayonnaise to make egg sandwiches.

2. The Omelette
An omelette is really simple to prepare and is great served with a salad or chips.
Beat two eggs in a bowl and add a little . Add a dash of milk or water. In an omelette pan , melt a knob of butter or margarine and let it coat the base of the pan. Pour the eggs into the pan and move them around so that they cover the base of the pan. Keep bringing the cooked bits from the side of the pan into the middle to let uncooked liquid run into gaps and cook evenly. Once you have a soft but firm evenly cooked omelette you can optionally add grated cheese or chopped and cooked mushrooms to the centre and, using a spatula, fold the omelette over the filling to make a crescent shape.

3. Scrambled Eggs
Scrambled eggs on toast is delicious and is a good standby when you're in a rush or are too tired to cook much. If you have got a microwave, then these are really easy – simply beat 2-3 eggs together, season, add a tiny dash of milk and cook on high. Stir with a fork every ten seconds and stop cooking when they are at the perfect consistency for you.
You can also scrambled eggs in a pan – Heat a knob of butter in a frying pan, beat the eggs in a bowl or jug, season and add a dash of milk. Once the butter is melted, pour the eggs into the pan and stir constantly with a wooden spoon. Cook until the egg mixture only has a bit of liquid left. Stir in a little butter and add cream if you want – delicious.
For a special breakfast, chop up smoked salmon and mix into the scrambled egg.

4. Poached Eggs
To poach eggs the easy way, you can purchase a special poaching pan which has round compartments into which you break your eggs and then they cook over the pan which is filled with boiling water.
To poach eggs without a poacher, pour boiling water into a frying pan until it is about 2 ½ cm deep, set the pan on the cooker and, when the water is bubbling gently (little bubbles under the surface), break an egg into the water. Simmer for 1 minute and then take from the heat. Stand for 10 minutes and then remove with a slotted spoon and drain. Serve on toast or with bacon, sausage and baked beans.

These are the four classic, fastest and most dependable ways to prepare eggs but you can also fry an egg in oil. Simply heat oil in a frying pan, break an egg gently into the pan (gently, so you don't break the yolk) and fry until done. Although you may favour frying eggs, try to remember that poaching is far healthier than frying because it uses water instead of oil.