Egg cooker measurements

[onlyMark]

To me this is counterintuitive. This is the measuring container for the amount of water needed in my egg steamer cooker thing.
Going from the bottom it shows soft, middle and hard boiled and the level for the amount of water for each number of eggs of that style.
I understand hard boiled need more water than soft so as to be steamed longer - but I don't understand why 1 of any (and I usually do soft boiled) need more water than 8 of them.

[kerouac2]

I abandoned the study of mathematics and physics too early to be able to understand that cup.

[bjd]

Feb 25, 2024 9:26:34 GMT onlyMark said:

I don't understand why 1 of any (and I usually do soft boiled) need more water than 8 of them.

Surely if there is only one egg in the pan, you have to cover it with x amount of water. But if there are 8 eggs, there is less space for water to rise to the same level, so you need less?

[onlyMark]

Just let me clarify what I mean by my egg cooker. Maybe I should have done so, sorry.
It steams the eggs. The eggs don't sit in the water.
It's like this (in fact it is this) -





The water sits beneath the egg rack, it's heated to steam.
Less water means the water disappears quicker - so shorter cooking time.
There is no timer. It has an alarm that goes off when virtually all the water has evaporated. The heating plate somehow detects this.
For eight eggs as opposed to one egg I would have thought you'd need more water to take a longer time to boil off as it would take longer to heat up and cook all the eggs.
I can only think if the tray is full of eggs you have less space for steam so you use less water and the measuring jug shows the amount needed....... no idea.

[onlyMark]

After some delving into the internet I found a theory as to why it is more water for less eggs/less water for more eggs.
It says, "But once the water is turned to steam, it condenses on the shells and drips back down into the boiler tray, to be recycled. So with more eggs you have more surface area, therefore more condensation dripping back down and a longer cooking time for less water."
Yes, well, I'll keep trying to find the perfect balance.............

[lugg]

I had no idea that such a thing as an egg cooker/ steamer existed . I am not sure if I would ever need/ buy one but open to being persuaded

[kerouac2]

I wonder too what is wrong with boiling eggs in water. It works just fine for me.

[bixaorellana]

Feb 25, 2024 13:31:35 GMT onlyMark said:

Yes, well, I'll keep trying to find the perfect balance

Mark, to be honest I was rather envious of your fancy stainless egg cooker at the expense of my much-loved but plainer & plastic egg cooker. But seeing your measuring device -- which made me cross my eyes -- made me fall back in love with my little Dash. I just use the measure on mine & don't think about it. After they're done, I lift the lid for @3 seconds, then replace the lid and go about my business. This is not how the Amazon video says to do it, but no matter. The video (below) talks about the less water for more eggs conundrum.

Feb 26, 2024 20:49:05 GMT lugg said:

I am not sure if I would ever need/ buy one but open to being persuaded

Oh, Lugg ~ Get it! getitgetitgetitgetit Get it! The reason I got one is because I make hard boiled eggs for my dogs as well as for myself, but hate boiling and peeling eggs. This takes all the thinking out of the process and the eggs are a million times easier to peel. The link is the one I have.

www.amazon.com/DASH-DEC207GBWH04-Express-Electric-Scrambled/dp/B07ZRYC3GL/ref=sr_1_2

[fumobici]

Feb 26, 2024 21:34:59 GMT kerouac2 said:

I wonder too what is wrong with boiling eggs in water. It works just fine for me.

I lean that way too but I guess it's like rice cookers, which I've never felt any need for, but Asian friends, who have forgotten more about rice than I'll ever know, swear by them and all use them. How many chances do you get to use an hourglass-type timer anymore?

[onlyMark]

Egg cookers use less energy and less water than on a stove top and, if I can get the water thing sorted which is a downside at the moment but I'm getting there, it's less faff. There's certainly wiggle room for making hard boiled ones and that's not a problem. I get it right every time. Dead easy. It's getting a good soft boiled that requires more precision that is not so easily repeatable.
Can't get that link to open Bixa. My browser rejects it.
If I made a lot of rice I'd get a rice cooker. At one time I needed to make a lot of bread, so got a bread machine.

Making a stew or dishes of that type that take hours, why not just keep the pan on a low heat on the cooker? No, I have a slow cooker because it uses less energy by far and is plug and play. Plus, as with the bread machine, there is a delay function to when it comes on which is handy in different circumstances. Used to wake up to freshly made bread or be out all day but set the slow cooker up to be ready for when I got back.
Luxury.

[bixaorellana]

I have an Instant Pot which I love & which people swear makes perfect rice. That's probably true, but I still make white rice on the stove, as God intended. But -- invoking the deity again -- as God is my witness, I'll never boil eggs again.

No idea why a browser would reject that link unless it's because of some ad blocker.

Regardless, here is a youtube video from the rejected link. The measuring cup can be seen in it & Lugg gets to see the Dash egg cooker in action.

[bjd]

I'm with Kerouac on this one. I so rarely make soft-boiled eggs that there is no reason to buy a machine for it. Just keep an eye on the clock and they usually come out fine. I make hard-boiled eggs more in summer but they are easy and don't require precise timing. Don't have a rice cooker either and in fact, the only extra machines in our kitchen are a kettle, a toaster and a microwave.

My kitchen is small and there is no reason to clutter it up with rarely-used gadgets.

[onlyMark]

My counter tops have just a toaster and kettle on them because I don't have a big kitchen. I do though have sufficient cupboard space to put these things in. No need to have them out all the time.
I don't have a microwave and as useful as some may find them, I don't have much need for one and don't really want to take up the permanent space for the little use it would get. I also cook and eat very little meat, do cook and eat bacon though but less and less as in Germany you can't get a good British style, so I'll eat eggs in one way or another reasonably regularly.
If I've ever bought a kitchen device it's because I will use it. That is apart from the hand cranked salad spinner though.

[bixaorellana]

Feb 27, 2024 7:00:29 GMT bjd said:

I'm with Kerouac on this one. I so rarely make soft-boiled eggs that there is no reason to buy a machine for it. Just keep an eye on the clock and they usually come out fine. I make hard-boiled eggs more in summer but they are easy and don't require precise timing. Don't have a rice cooker either and in fact, the only extra machines in our kitchen are a kettle, a toaster and a microwave.
My kitchen is small and there is no reason to clutter it up with rarely-used gadgets.

Y'all should move in together. Maybe Kerouac would let you use his two-pronged fork for toasting bread over the fire & that way you could ditch the toaster.

For many, many years I have not owned a microwave or a toaster, both of which are a waste of space. I have never owned an electric kettle for the same reason. That's why I have space for cool stuff like IPs and egg cookers.

[onlyMark]

Forgot to mention the egg cooker is able to do up to four poached eggs as well which I use quite often. That's a far easier process than doing it 'by hand'.
In gentle disagreement with Bixa, I have need of a toaster because in our household and being English, it is an absolute necessity. The kettle is used for regular drinks but I notice mainly for boiling water in a more electrically efficient and easy way for cooking. I don't put a pan of water on the hob to boil. Just put the kettle on and walk away.
I've no need for some style of coffee machine taking up space either/anyway. If we have guests then the cafetière comes out. If not, then the king of coffee, instant Nescafe, is used.

[mickthecactus]

I don’t eat eggs so this all passes me by...

[kerouac2]

I am working my way up to buying a small toaster. The charity shop next door has some for 10 euros.

[bjd]

New toasters are not very expensive either. Maybe you could splurge for your birthday.

Instant coffee

[kerouac2]

New toasters are not very expensive either.

That's why I am waiting until I make a visit to Darty to decide.

[onlyMark]

Thanks bjd for your positive endorsement of my personal preference and choice that affects nobody but me. The biggest selling instant coffee in France is Nescafe so I must be in good company. You mention having a kettle, but no coffee machine? Is it kept in a cupboard? I don't have one. It's that space I use for my egg cooker.
I have a Colombian friend who calls Nescafe, anti-social coffee. It's the coffee you serve to guests when you don't want them to stay very long.
I'm quite happy with that idea.

Edited to add - thinking I know in France instant coffee is frowned upon so I ended up disappearing down the internet. In 2023, 32.88 million kilograms of instant coffee was consumed (compared to 178.13 million kg's of roast coffee).
As each cup of instant uses 1.8g (according to Nescafe themselves), that works out as 18,266,666,667 cups.
If you take the population of France to be 68 million, that is about 269 cups per person per year. As the majority don't drink it, then some people are drinking a hell of a lot.
Conversely in the UK our instant coffee consumption is more as expected but not too much more because we substitute tea when others may have coffee. We consume about 305 cups per person per year. Not as much difference as I expected.

[kerouac2]

I drink very few hot beverages, so I don't really care whether my coffee is instant or fresh. I only have instant coffee on hand now in any case. I had a coffee maker until about 5 years ago but it got so little use that it was a complete waste of space. Now I have a blender there but it doesn't get much use either.

[fumobici]

My coffee machine takes up very little counter space.

[kerouac2]

I am just happy that the "capsule" people now have biodegradable cardboard capsules instead of the aluminium abominations that they started with. I have no data on the subject, but I question the ecological wisdom of any sort of espresso machine. Back in the old days, people made huge pots of really awful coffee (usually) but now they turn the machine on 10 times to get as much coffee.

[onlyMark]

fumo, nice to see the old electric switches there. I hope the coffee machine doesn't overload your circuits.

[bjd]

I drink only one cup of coffee a day, for breakfast, so don't need a machine. I just put a plastic filter thingy with a paper filter on top of the cup and put ground coffee, pour hot water and get good coffee. My husband drinks tea. So a kettle is enough for our breakfast needs. I also have an Italian espresso maker -- a little pot -- for when we have company who want coffee after a meal.

[lugg]

Now if an egg cooker does poached egs too , I may be converted .
used to have a nesprosso machine ...but it died so now I just use a cafetiere if I want something quick or one of those metal Italian peculators which have been around for years if I have time. But I prefer tea ....

[fumobici]

Feb 27, 2024 17:40:11 GMT kerouac2 said:

I have no data on the subject, but I question the ecological wisdom of any sort of espresso machine.

I'm curious why you'd say that? My coffee maker was made in 1973, still works as it did new and creates no waste stream but coffee grounds, which I compost and end up being used in the garden.

[fumobici]

Feb 27, 2024 18:42:10 GMT onlyMark said:

fumo, nice to see the old electric switches there. I hope the coffee machine doesn't overload your circuits.

It draws less power than a toaster or quick boil electric kettle, but thank you.

[bixaorellana]

Feb 27, 2024 7:47:45 GMT onlyMark said:

In gentle disagreement with Bixa, I have need of a toaster because in our household and being English, it is an absolute necessity. The kettle is used for regular drinks but I notice mainly for boiling water in a more electrically efficient and easy way

In response to your genteel explanation, I will explain my stance on those two appliances.
First of all, I don't eat all that much toast, so toasting bread in a skillet is fine with me. Second, I lived in New Orleans for many years in old houses with no AC, so nervously think of toasters as roach condos. Every time my dad would visit me, he'd go out and return all pleased with himself, saying, "I notice you don't have one of these", as he presented me with a nice new toaster.
As far as the electric kettle, I admit I use one anytime I'm in an airbnb because there's always one to use -- ditto toasters, microwave, & nespressos, the latter because it's often the only option for making coffee.
Further disclosures: because of my stovetop toasting and water boiling, I have burnt lots of bread and ruined a favorite pot.
Even so, space is the paramount consideration, so I'm willing to forgo both toaster & kettle because they're not much use unless kept out on the counter.

Feb 27, 2024 8:26:37 GMT mickthecactus said:

I don’t eat eggs

Are you allergic, or was your mother scared by a chicken when she was carrying you?

Feb 27, 2024 12:20:28 GMT bjd said:

Instant coffee [img style="max-width: 100%;" src="::vomit_smiley::

I wouldn't go so far as to use the vomit emoji, but the idea of instant coffee for either of my two cups a day makes me infinitely sad.

Feb 27, 2024 18:42:10 GMT onlyMark said:

I hope the coffee machine doesn't overload your circuits.

I'm pretty sure that for people who appreciate espresso, browning out the neighborhood wouldn't matter as long as they got their tiny cup of joy. And really, it's a small enough indulgence in this vale of tears.

Feb 27, 2024 20:08:36 GMT lugg said:

Now if an egg cooker does poached egs too , I may be converted .

They do poach! The one Mark has looks as though it would poach better than mine does. Really, the thing that poaches the best is the Revere Ware poacher. My mother has one that is probably older than I am. I wonder if she'd like to give it to me. www.ebay.com/itm/295533746975

[lugg]

They do poach! The one Mark has looks as though it would poach better than mine does. Really, the thing that poaches the best is the Revere Ware poacher. My mother has one that is probably older than I am. I wonder if she'd like to give it to me. www.ebay.com/itm/295533746975

I suggest negotiation Bixa

That is similar to my much later model but the eggs stick in the bottom no matter what I do. I suspect this older version is much , much better