Poached egg
A poached egg is cooked without its shell in gently simmering water. Its white sets while its yolk usually remains soft.
Egg protein coagulation: The heat-driven unfolding and bonding of egg proteins that turns liquid egg into a solid or gel. Gentle heat sets the white while helping the yolk stay fluid.
Chicken egg: An oval reproductive structure produced by a hen, widely eaten as food. Its white and yolk respond differently to poaching heat.
Eggs Benedict: A dish of English muffin, Canadian bacon, poached eggs, and hollandaise sauce. It is a prominent breakfast built around poached eggs.
Boiled egg: An egg cooked in hot water while enclosed in its shell. Its shell stays on during cooking, unlike a poached egg.
Water temperature: A measure of how hot water is, affecting cooking speed and the behavior of ingredients immersed in it. A gentle simmer cooks the egg without the turbulence of a rolling boil.
Simmering: A cooking state in which liquid is hot and produces small, steady bubbles below a full boil. Poached eggs cook in water kept at this low-bubble state.
Eggs Florentine: A dish combining eggs, spinach, and hollandaise, often served on an English muffin. It substitutes spinach for the meat commonly used in Eggs Benedict.
Fried egg: An egg cooked in a pan with fat, usually until some part of its white or yolk sets. It cooks against a hot pan rather than submerged in water.
Egg freshness: The quality of an egg as it ages, reflected in changes to its white, yolk, and protective structures. Fresh whites spread less in water and cling more closely to the yolk.
Slotted spoon: A spoon with openings that let liquid drain while retaining solid food. It lifts the cooked egg from water while leaving most liquid behind.