Eggs can be prepared in so many different ways; this is nothing new to the North Carolina Egg Association and most people. But did you know there are many different tools to help you with cooking your eggs in many of these ways? Take a peek below at the Incredible Edible Egg’s list of egg cooking materials (information can also be found here):
CODDLER
A small cup made of porcelain, heatproof glass or pottery with a screw-on top. To use a coddler, break an egg or two into the cup, screw on the top and submerge the cup in simmering water until the egg is cooked. Eat the eggs directly from the coddler. You can also coddle eggs in a small jelly-size canning jar.
COOKER
An electric appliance which steam-cooks eggs in the shell. Most egg cookers also have inserts or cups for steam-poached eggs and some have a flat insert for cooking fried or scrambled eggs and omelets.
CRÈPE PAN
A shallow, slope-sided skillet, 6 to 8 inches in diameter. Crèpe pans range from inexpensive, lightweight pans to sophisticated electric models, some of which cook the crèpes on what appears to be the outside of the pan. You can make crèpes in almost any small shallow pan with sloping sides, such as a small omelet pan.
CUSTARD CUPS
Small, deep, individual bowl-shaped dishes, with a capacity of 6 or 10 ounces, designed for oven use and perfect for baking individual custards or quiches.
OMELET PAN
A shallow, slope-sided nonstick skillet, usually 7 to 10 inches in diameter. A double omelet pan consists of 2 shallow rectangular or semicircular pans attached by hinges. Each pan has a handle.
PIERCER
A sharp-pointed tool for gently pricking a very small hole in the large end of an eggshell before hard-boiling. Piercing may allow some air to escape and some water to seep into the egg during cooking, which may make peeling easier. However, piercing often produces hairline cracks in the shell, making the egg more vulnerable to bacteria. For this reason, piercing is not recommended. To make peeling hard-boiled eggs easier, use eggs that are 7 to 10 days old.
POACHER
A rack that holds cups, sized to fit one egg each, over simmering water, or a small colander-like form that holds an egg as it poaches in simmering water.
QUICHE DISH
A round, shallow, straight-sided ceramic dish, usually with scalloped edges, for oven use. Sometimes also called a flan or tart dish, a quiche dish is available in several sizes. You can also use a pie plate of the same size to bake a quiche.
RING
A round band, with or without a handle, to hold a fried or poached egg during cooking.
SEPARATOR
A small cup centered in a round frame made of plastic, metal or ceramic. The cup catches the yolk while slots around the frame let the white slip through to a container beneath the separator. You can also use a kitchen funnel to separate eggs.
SLICER
A device which cuts a hard-boiled egg into neat slices with one swift stroke. An egg slicer has an indented tray in which the egg rests and a cutting mechanism of parallel wires. To chop an egg, carefully rotate the sliced egg 90 degrees in the tray and cut through again. You can also chop eggs using a pastry blender in a bowl and slice or chop eggs with a sharp knife on a cutting board.
SOUFFLÉ DISH
A deep, straight-sided dish designed for oven use. Soufflé dishes are available in various sizes and can serve as casserole dishes, too. You can also bake a soufflé in a straight-sided casserole or baking dish or an uncoated saucepan of the same size.
WEDGER
A device which cuts a hard-boiled egg into 6 equal wedge-shaped parts. The wedger holds the egg upright as you pull wires over it to cut the wedges. When you draw down the wires only partway, you can open the egg to hold a stuffing or to resemble a flower.
Looking for some funky egg gadgets? Williams Sonoma has an entire section on their website for egg cookers: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/shop/cooks-tools/egg-tools/
