Poaching

The temperatures, and what they look like

The difference between these is entirely visual and it is worth learning to read.

Poach, roughly 70–85°C

The surface shivers. Occasional small bubbles rise from the base and break before the top. No rolling movement.

Bare simmer, roughly 85–95°C

Small bubbles break the surface steadily in one or two places.

Simmer, roughly 95°C

Bubbles across the whole surface, gently.

Boil, 100°C

Vigorous, rolling, the whole surface in motion. Too violent for anything delicate.

The practical trick

Bring it to a boil, then turn the heat right down and wait a minute. Most hobs cannot hold a poaching temperature directly from cold.

Why gentleness matters

Boiling water moves. That movement physically batters delicate food — it breaks up fish, tears poached eggs into rags, and knocks fruit apart. Poaching removes the mechanical damage entirely.

It also gives you time. At a bare simmer, food goes from underdone to overdone in seconds; at poaching temperature, the same transition takes minutes, which is enough to check and react. For lean, unforgiving things — chicken breast, white fish, eggs — that margin is the whole argument.

A useful variation is to bring the liquid up, put the food in, turn the heat off entirely and cover the pan. The residual heat cooks it and the temperature only falls, so overcooking is nearly impossible.

Poaching an egg

The method that works reliably, with the two steps most people skip.

1. Use the freshest eggs you can. An older egg has a thin, watery white that spreads into rags — this matters more than any technique.
2. Crack the egg into a fine sieve over a bowl and let the loose, watery part of the white drain away. This is the single most effective step and almost nobody does it.
3. Bring a wide pan of water to the boil, add a splash of vinegar, then turn the heat down until the surface is barely trembling.
4. Slide the egg in from a cup, close to the surface. A gentle swirl in the water first helps the white wrap round, but is less important than the sieving.
5. Cook for around three minutes for a runny yolk, undisturbed.
6. Lift out with a slotted spoon onto kitchen paper, and trim any stray white.

What to poach

• Chicken breast, which stays tender in a way no other method reliably manages. Off the heat, covered, for fifteen to twenty minutes.
• White fish and salmon, in court bouillon, milk or stock. Barely trembling, and it is done when it just turns opaque.
• Fruit — pears, quinces, plums, apricots — in wine or sugar syrup with spices. The syrup becomes a sauce.
• Eggs, obviously.
• Whole birds and hams, in the classic large-scale versions of the technique.
• Flavour the liquid. Poaching in plain water leaches flavour out; poaching in something aromatic puts it back. Stock, wine, milk, or water with bay, peppercorns, lemon and onion.

Common questions