Eggs: Gentle Heat

Egg whites set at about 62°C and yolks at about 65°C, far below boiling. Almost every egg problem, rubbery whites, chalky yolks, scrambled custard, comes from too much heat or too long at it.

Boiled

Lower eggs from the fridge into water at a rolling boil, then turn it down to a steady simmer and time from when they go in. For large eggs: 6 minutes for a runny yolk, 7 for jammy, 8 for fudgy, 10 for hard. Medium eggs need about a minute less.

Plunge them into cold water to stop the cooking. The grey-green ring round an overcooked yolk is harmless but a sign it went too long.

Very fresh eggs are hard to peel. Eggs a week or so old peel cleanly; so do eggs started in boiling water rather than cold.

Poached

The fresher the egg, the tighter the white. Crack each one into a fine sieve and let the thin, watery white drain away first; that is what makes the wispy strands.

Poach in water barely moving, with small bubbles rising, never boiling. A swirl in the pan and vinegar are optional once the thin white has gone.

Poached eggs can be made ahead, slipped into iced water, and warmed in hot water for a minute before serving.

Scrambled and omelettes

For soft, creamy scrambled eggs, cook them slowly over a low heat with butter, stirring, and take them off while they still look a little underdone. They go on cooking on the plate.

Salt them just before cooking, or 15 minutes ahead, not in between: it changes the texture of the proteins over time.

An omelette is the opposite: a hot pan, quick work, under a minute, with the eggs pulled in from the edges as they set.

Custards and tempering

A custard, whether a sauce, a crème brûlée or a quiche filling, thickens only a few degrees below where it curdles. Cook it gently and stir constantly.

To add eggs to anything hot, temper them: whisk a little of the hot liquid into the eggs first, then pour the warmed eggs back in. Added straight, they scramble.

If a custard sauce starts to look grainy, take it off the heat at once, pour it into a cold bowl and whisk hard, or blitz it with a stick blender.