Poached eggs. Ous escalfats

I have never, to my knowledge, had a poached egg before Wednesday.

No he tingut, en tota la meva vida, un ou escalfat abans de dimecres.


As I have mentioned before, I received the Ferran Adria cookbook for Xmas, and one of the things that are called for are poached eggs.  Though he actually often uses some machine that mimics a Japanese technique of cooking eggs in hot springs for an hour or so.  I have no such ambitions.  The poached egg, however, seemed like a good challenge.

Com he dit abans, m'ha regalat el llibre de receptes de Ferran Adrià per nadal, i un dels coses que cuina són ous escalfats.  Però sovint utilitza un tipus de maquina que imita una tècnica japonès per cuina ous en fonts calens en un hora més o menys.  Jo no tinc ambicions per fer això. L'ou escalfat, tanmateix, sembla una bona repta.


Ferran, bless his talented heart, says to simply slip the egg into the nearly boiling water.  May I say, that even with the most radically fresh eggs, which I have as I buy them from the farmer every Wednesday still warm and poopy from the feathery behinds they have dwelled under, these turned into a mess.

En Ferran, Déu el beneeixi, explica que simplement hem de llisar l'ou cap a l'aigua quasi bullint.  
Podria dir que, encara que tinc ous tan fresc, que compro cada setmana del pagesa, encara calenteta i cagades dels culls plomats a on habitava fins ara, no quedava juntes quan toca l'aigua.  Un desasatre absolut.


So.  The Joy of Cooking and also Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (Deborah Madison, a vegetarian's J of C) were broached.  Various strategies were put forth, stirring the near boiling water vigorously and pouring the egg into the seething vortex (those were the J of C's words.  GOTTA love that cookbook).  Vinegar in the water was also suggested.

Llavors.  El Joy of Cooking i també el Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (Deborah Madison, una J de C per vegetarianes)  eren consultats.  Varius estratègies estaven presentats, remenant l'aigua quasi bullida molt vigorosament i triant l'ou entre el centre del vòrtex bullint furiosament (els paraules em falta per trobar un equivalent tant ben fet com ha fet el J of C, un llibre de receptes que estàs absolutament obligada d'encantar).  Vinagre també estava una suggeriment.


Swirling was tried, with significant improvements.  Perfection, no, but better.  Vinegar was tried.  Disgusting.  Honestly, never do this.  I was pretty content with the swirling.  Then today?  Today, success.  Absolute success.  Here's the trick.  You have to swirl the water SO vigorously, so enthusiastically that a whirlpool forms, like the water draining from a tub.  You have to be able to see the bottom of the pot and worry that your egg is going to burn on it rather than poach.  (Laws of physics and inertia be d*mned)

Arremolinant?  Intentava i notava bastants milloraments.  Perfecte, no era, però millor, sí.  Provàvem vinagre.  F.A.S.T.I.G.O.S.  De debò?  Mai ho fas.  Estava bastant contenta amb el tècnica de remolí.  Doncs, avui?  Avui, èxit.  Un èxit absolut.  Mira, aquí és el truc.  Has de arremolar l'aigua TAN vigorosament, amb tanta entusiasme que un remolí es forma, com quan l'aigua baixa de la banyera.  Has de veure al fons del pot i has de patir que el teu ou es cremarà en lloc de escalfar. (Normes de física i inèrcia..pah)


Honestly, this is probably not such a discovery for some of you out there, but let me tell you, Youngest and I have been enjoying some seriously delicious poached eggs today.  Mmmmmm.

La veritat és que això probablement no és un gran descobriment per alguns de vosaltres, però vull dir que la Petita i jo hem disfruitat alguns ous escalfats, tans bons avui!  Mmmmmmm.


Bon appetit!
Bon Profit!