Coddled egg

Coddled egg

Coddled egg on hash
Main ingredients	Eggs
Media: Coddled egg

For coddled eggs cooked in shell in boiled water, see boiled egg.

In cooking, coddled eggs are eggs that have been cracked into a ramekin or another small container, placed in a water bath or bain-marie and gently or lightly cooked just below boiling temperature. They can be partially cooked, mostly cooked, or hardly cooked at all (as in the eggs used to make Caesar salad dressing, which is only slightly poached for a thicker end-product). Poached eggs are similar to coddled eggs but cooked by submersion in water, rather than being placed in a water bath.

Method

The egg is broken into an egg coddler, porcelain cup or ramekin with a lid, and cooked using a bain-marie. The inside of the egg coddler is first buttered to flavor the egg and allow it to be removed more easily. A raw egg (sometimes with additional flavorings) is broken into the coddler, which is then placed in a pan of near-boiling water for 7 to 8 minutes to achieve a solid white and runny yolk.

Manufacture

Coddlers may have been manufactured by Royal Worcester^[1] since at least the 1890s. Many companies^[2] now make egg coddlers, some of which are collectors' items.

Possible risks

In the United States, eggs have around a 1 in 30,000 risk of exposure to salmonella and other bacteria.^[3][4][5] Using fresh eggs that have been washed and kept refrigerated, or pasteurized eggs is recommended to minimize the risk. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, eggs should be cooked until both the white and the yolk are firm,^[6] and the water temperature should be 74–82 °C (165–180 °F).^[7] Children, the elderly, and persons with compromised immune systems are advised against eating lightly cooked eggs because of the risk of exposure to salmonella infection.

In the UK, according to the NHS, raw or lightly cooked eggs bearing the lion mark can be safely eaten by pregnant women, infants and children, and the elderly.^[8]

See also

• Boiled egg
• Egg cup
• List of egg dishes

References

1. "Royal Worcester Egg Coddlers". museumofroyalworcester.org. 15 August 2016. Archived from the original on 3 January 2015.
2. "Manufacturers of Egg Coddlers". Egg-Coddlers.com. 1 June 2010.
3. Kimura, Akiko C.; Reddy, V; Marcus, R; Cieslak, PR; Mohle-Boetani, JC; Kassenborg, HD; Segler, SD; Hardnett, FP; Barrett, T; et al. (2004). "Chicken Consumption Is a Newly Identified Risk Factor for Sporadic Salmonella enterica Serotype Enteritidis Infections in the United States: A Case-Control Study in FoodNet Sites". Clinical Infectious Diseases. 38: S244 – S252. doi:10.1086/381576. PMID 15095196.
4. Little, C.L; Surman-Lee, S; Greenwood, M; Bolton, FJ; Elson, R; Mitchell, RT; Nichols, GN; Sagoo, SK; Threlfall, EJ; et al. (2007). "Public health investigations of Salmonella Enteritidis in catering raw shell eggs, 2002–2004". Letters in Applied Microbiology. 44 (6). Blackwell Publishing: 595–601. doi:10.1111/j.1472-765X.2007.02131.x. PMID 17576219. S2CID 19995946.
5. Stephens, N.; Sault, C; Firestone, SM; Lightfoot, D; Bell, C; et al. (2007). "Large outbreaks of Salmonella Typhimurium phage type 135 infections associated with the consumption of products containing raw egg in Tasmania". Communicable Diseases Intelligence. 31 (1). Blackwell Publishing: 118–24. PMID 17503652.
6. "Eggs and Egg Products". foodsafety.gov. 29 April 2019.
7. "Poaching Eggs from the World's Premier Culinary College". 17 April 2009. Archived from the original on 16 November 2010 – via YouTube.
8. "The healthy way to eat eggs". NHS. 25 January 2021. Archived from the original on 12 March 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.

External links

• Collectors' information