Coddled Eggs
A good breakfast egg is a delightful thing! And, evidently a controversial one as well. Inspired by the dust-up over Alice Water's wrought iron egg spoon (for a mere $250), I decided to take a look at some period egg recipes. Today we look at the coddled egg. I love eggs prepared in all ways, but coddling is not in my normal repertoire, somehow seeming fussier to prepare, although it really isn't. To coddle is to pamper, to protect to the point of overprotecting. A coddled egg is cooked out of the shell, gently and slowly, in water rather than over direct heat in a frying pan. I've made coddled eggs in my modern life but was curious how a period recipe might vary. A Period Version The Praire Farmer, July 1852, p 331 I found this recipe copied verbatim in many cookbooks. The difference that stood out when I compared it to modern techniques, was that pouring boiling water on the eggs was the preferred method. Every modern re...