# Egg-cooking gadgets **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 2, 2018, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-cooking-gadgets/805751 "2018-01-02T14:42:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-cooking-gadgets/805751/1 "2018-01-02T14:42:00Z")
I love gadgets. Well, I love gadgets that do what they’re supposed to do. Yes, I know it’s reeeeeally easy to cook eggs without gadgets. The best one I have is called the [Egg Genie](https://www.amazon.com/Egg-Genie-Electric-Cooker/dp/B0026RXLGU) for making soft and hard boiled eggs. You stand the eggs up in the corral (right from the fridge), add a measured amount of water depending on how hard you want them, put on the domed lid, and plug it in. When the eggs are done, the devise shrieks similar to a smoke alarm. Impossible to ignore. Another one that works well is this [egg cup thingie](http://genevievelethuchicago.blogspot.com/2011/06/microwave-egg-cooker.html). You break the egg in there, snap on the cover and microwave for 35-50 seconds. Someone gave me one of these [microwave stoneware things](https://the-gadgeteer.com/2014/02/03/as-seen-on-tv-stone-wave-microwave-cooker-review/) for Christmas a few years ago. I haven’t quite gotten the timing down and often the egg is either undercooked or it explodes all over the inside. I finally pitched this [silicone egg cooker](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005OWJPK0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B005OWJPK0&linkCode=as2&tag=natiplanwildg-20) in the trash yesterday after many attempts at making it work over the years. When you put the egg in, it’s hard to close the top without breaking the yolk or causing the egg to spill over the sides, and the eggs sticks like crazy to the inside even when you butter it. Maybe it’s just me. Do you have egg-cooking gadgets that you like (not necessarily for the microwave)? ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-cooking-gadgets/805751/2 "2018-01-02T15:17:21Z")
I sous vide soft boiled eggs at 145 degrees F and use a pressure cooker for four minutes for hard boiled ones. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-cooking-gadgets/805751/3 "2018-01-02T16:32:32Z")
I have an Instant Pot (because gadgets) and I know you can cook eggs in it. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-cooking-gadgets/805751/4 "2018-01-02T16:52:32Z")
I love my old school egg poacher. bring water to boil, reduce heat, add insert, cover. 3 min later you have perfect eggs. 3 min 15 sec if you want them firm. > **[Amazon.com: Better Houseware Non-Stick 3-Cup Egg Poacher: Home & Kitchen](https://www.amazon.com/Better-Houseware-441-Non-Stick-Poacher/dp/B00182EX4I)** > > Shop Better Houseware at the Amazon Cookware store. Free Shipping on eligible items. Everyday low prices, save up to 50%. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-cooking-gadgets/805751/5 "2018-01-02T16:56:23Z")
Bah. A pot (for poached eggs) or a pan are enough for me. Poached eggs take no longer than it takes to toast the English muffin they go on: just dump them in the simmering water. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-cooking-gadgets/805751/6 "2018-01-02T18:09:27Z")
This has to be the weirdest one I’ve seen: [Rollie Hands-Free Automatic Electric Vertical Nonstick Easy Quick Egg Cooker](http://a.co/06ITGTg). When the egg is done cooking, a bizarre egg-log rises up out of the cooking device. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-cooking-gadgets/805751/7 "2018-01-02T18:28:10Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > This has to be the weirdest one I’ve seen: [Rollie Hands-Free Automatic Electric Vertical Nonstick Easy Quick Egg Cooker](http://a.co/06ITGTg). When the egg is done cooking, a bizarre egg-log rises up out of the cooking device. That really needs the [video infomercial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XILbEZlS0U) to truly appreciate. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-cooking-gadgets/805751/8 "2018-01-02T18:39:50Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I have an Instant Pot (because gadgets) and I know you can cook eggs in it. Have you tried making Starbucks style sous vide egg bites in your IP? FB friends seem to use silicone rubber baby food freezer trays and love the results. I’m tempted by an IP just for that. (If you haven’t tried Starbucks egg bites, I recommend them) ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-cooking-gadgets/805751/9 "2018-01-02T18:48:04Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > This has to be the weirdest one I’ve seen: [Rollie Hands-Free Automatic Electric Vertical Nonstick Easy Quick Egg Cooker](http://a.co/06ITGTg). When the egg is done cooking, a bizarre egg-log rises up out of the cooking device. ah yes, the late-night gadget commercial, where people can’t so much as fold a T-shirt without suffering life-threatening injury. > [@pulykamell](#): > > That really needs the [video infomercial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XILbEZlS0U) to truly appreciate. 🙂 Thoroughly [skewered by Alton Brown.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgFeVlw2Ywg&t=3m27s) ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-cooking-gadgets/805751/10 "2018-01-02T18:49:18Z")
I do mine with an [Anova Precision Cooker](https://anovaculinary.com/) now. Some months ago I went to a Japanese restaurant that offers [onsen eggs](http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/08/how-to-make-onsen-tamago-japanese-poached-egg.html) with dishes or as a side. I was instantly hooked - a cold, soft boiled egg with a solid silky white. I had a few goes at doing it without an immersion cooker with unreliable results. However Anova seems to be one of those products that you only pay full price for if you are unlucky, they are always on sale. So, I think mine was $100 off for father’s day. I have settled on 149℉ for 45 minutes. I do 6 at a time and put any I don’t eat immediately in the fridge after an ice bath. When I want one on a salad or a noodle dish I just crack it like I am putting it in a frypan and gently pour it out. The cooker just sits clamped to the side of a stockpot, plugged in and ready to go. I find that if all I have to do is turn it on, pour in the water and bag the food i use it more often. In the case of the eggs no bagging is required. The other great gadget for cooking eggs is those little plastic egg timers that go in with your eggs when you boil them. They change color to show you how cooked the eggs are. I find with one of those, using the sale size eggs and keeping the timer with the eggs (either in or out of the fridge), I can get exactly the same result every time. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-cooking-gadgets/805751/11 "2018-01-02T19:09:36Z")
I’ve never had any luck hard-cooking eggs with an Anova. no matter which “recommended” procedure I try, they’re impossible to peel cleanly. and I don’t mean the shell/membrane is a bit reluctant to let go, I mean the white peels apart in thick layers. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-cooking-gadgets/805751/12 "2018-01-02T19:59:59Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > I’ve never had any luck hard-cooking eggs with an Anova. no matter which “recommended” procedure I try, they’re impossible to peel cleanly. and I don’t mean the shell/membrane is a bit reluctant to let go, I mean the white peels apart in thick layers. I never hard cook with the Anova. Hard cooked eggs need to be steamed to peel easily; that’s a job for the Instant Pot. The Anova does make a perfect three-minute egg, but it does take 45 minutes to do it. You can make a dozen at a time and hold the extras refrigerated; warming them up to eating temperature as you need them, but that first one takes a while. ---
**Author:** ![BlueMerle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@BlueMerle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueMerle)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-cooking-gadgets/805751/13 "2018-01-02T20:07:37Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > That really needs the [video infomercial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XILbEZlS0U) to truly appreciate. 🙂 OMG! That’s disgusting! ---
**Author:** ![BlueMerle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@BlueMerle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueMerle)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-cooking-gadgets/805751/14 "2018-01-02T20:08:44Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > Thoroughly [skewered by Alton Brown.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgFeVlw2Ywg&t=3m27s) OMG! That’s hilarious! ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-cooking-gadgets/805751/15 "2018-01-02T20:44:13Z")
I have [Henrietta](https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/maverick-39-s-henrietta-hen-reg-egg-cooker/1010726832?skuId=10726832&mrkgcl=609&mrkgadid=3249758698&rkg_id=h-62a0e16d34b85993ab2fda51d8ae15b6_t-1514925678&mcid=PS_googlepla_nonbrand_kitchenaccessories_online&product_id=10726832&adtype=pla&product_channel=online&adpos=1o1&creative=228347162358&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhdfu9JG62AIVS1gNCh00IgvuEAQYASABEgI9__D_BwE). ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-cooking-gadgets/805751/16 "2018-01-02T23:37:30Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > This has to be the weirdest one I’ve seen: [Rollie Hands-Free Automatic Electric Vertical Nonstick Easy Quick Egg Cooker](http://a.co/06ITGTg). When the egg is done cooking, a bizarre egg-log rises up out of the cooking device. > [@pulykamell](#): > > That really needs the [video infomercial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XILbEZlS0U) to truly appreciate. 🙂 Glove and Boots Reviewed it: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/TxaSnVVV-QU/maxresdefault.jpg "Glove and Boots Product Testing: The Rollie") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxaSnVVV-QU) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-cooking-gadgets/805751/17 "2018-01-03T01:28:40Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > This has to be the weirdest one I’ve seen: [Rollie Hands-Free Automatic Electric Vertical Nonstick Easy Quick Egg Cooker](http://a.co/06ITGTg). When the egg is done cooking, a bizarre egg-log rises up out of the cooking device. This review at amazon along with the accompanying [PG-17-rated picture](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71qRtzsKlfL._SY88.jpg) is hilarious. > [@](#): > > I’ve seen the late-night infomercials for this product, but I never gave it much thought. After all, what possible use could I have of a device whose sole purpose is to make cooking an egg far too complicated? Then I read a review of it in The Guardian, with accompanying video and I knew I needed one of these immediately. Not because I really wanted a device to cook my eggs into flaccid, wiggly phalluses (phalli?) but because I wanted to experience the utter magnificence of this device firsthand. I admit it, I am a glutton for punishment and nothing says punishment like making food into flavorless tubes for more efficient ingestion. Speaking of punishment, the Rollie is accompanied by a cookbook filled with recipes, some of which seem less like cooking and more like punishing ingredients for the audacity of not coming in roll form. > > My first experiment with the Rollie was just plain eggs, what the device was originally made for. Just as promised, my egg phallus rose proudly erect from the depths of the Rollie chamber, still-liquid yolk glistening on its tip. That is, until it was spent from the effort and drooped over, the yolk dripping from its head onto the counter below, as if to say “I’m finished, you can wrap your lips around me now.” > > I ignored the egg as I am not fond of liquid yolk, so I flipped it over as the instructions suggested to finish it. Once again, it rose straight until it was exhausted, though having spent all its yolk on the first round, there was nothing to mess my counter. > > Once I had determined that the eggrection was technically food, I decided to try a couple more recipes. I quickly regretted my decision as a flaccid tube of runny egg, supermarket cheese, and soggy crackers drooped at me, shamed by its existence. “It’s okay,” I whispered to the poor thing. “I’m sure you’ll meet a friend down at the composting party.” > > After thoroughly cleansing the Rollie’s orifice with the conveniently included brush, I retired for the evening, spent from the work required to keep track of whether or not the Rollie’s contents had been cooked. On one hand, the steam pressure that forces the eggrection out of its hole should indicate it is cooked, that isn’t necessarily the case. The Rollie cookbook gives times for cooking its may recipes, from about five minutes to pushing ten minutes. Sometimes, the eggrection is pushed out before even coming close to the 8 minutes of cooking time needed, which then requires messy removal and awkward reinsertion, as if I haven’t done this sort of thing before. > > During one late night, I got the munchies and, putting my dignity aside, I decided to see about that Rollie recipe that’s just a hot dog covered in an egg tube. It was perfectly edible, but this highlighted the fundamental flaw of the Rollie: it’s ridiculously inefficient. How long does it take to nuke a hot dog? 25 seconds, according to the back of the package of my snooty Angus hot dogs (and my aged microwave concurs). How long does it take to throw a loosely scrambled egg in a frying pan? 2 to 3 minutes, according to my half-assed timing. How long does it take to cook an egg-covered Rollie hot dog eggrection? 6-8 minutes, according to the cookbook. In the time it takes to cook a Rollie egg dog, I could have been enjoying my protein and fat for several minutes. Time is all we have, people, and why would I want to spend more time to put one soggy eggrection in my mouth when I could spend less time experiencing the real thing? > > Regarding its inefficiency, with the long cooking times and single eggrection quantity, this is absolutely not ideal for parties, despite the promotional video’s suggestion otherwise.Imagine trying to make an entire platter of Rollie’s version of pizza rolls for a party, or even just more than two people. In the amount of time it takes for a single Rollie pizzarection to present itself to you, you could have baked an entire pan of regular pizza rolls. This with the same amount of food prep, but not the frequent lubrication of Rollie’s fussy orifices. > > A petty complaint is that it has no on/off button. It simply is on while plugged in. Granted, it has the handy lights that show you if it’s on, but with as many warning labels as there are in the world, this could be a bit problematic. Remembering to unplug the Rollie is not high on the list of priorities when an egg-infused tortilla rectangle rises to greet you in the morning. More likely, priority number one is finding out who is responsible for whatever is going on there. > > Of course, none of this compares to the Rollie’s complete violation of tortillas. Tortillas, those delicious, round flatbreads filled with many delights, have one very defining feature: they are round. Their second feature is that you put things in them and they conveniently roll up for on-the-go deliciousness. The Rollie corrupts the very nature of the tortilla, the very essence of what makes a tortilla a tortilla. In order to use a tortilla in the Rollie, you have to cut it into a 4x7 rectangle. > > Yes, that is what I just said. The noble tortilla, nature’s most angelic food wrapping, turned into a seedy square, ready to be adulterated with eggrections and devil knows what else. The Rollie cookbook even comes with a template on the back, so we can butcher the hapless tortilla with precision. I couldn’t bear to do it. I begged my tortilla’s forgiveness for even contemplating such a thing, and proceeded to turn it into a delicious and proper breakfast taco that I enjoyed while I watched yet another Rollie eggrection force its way to the surface. > > The Rollie is wildly inefficient and a novelty at best. While I enjoyed my tryst with the Rollie, I’m afraid I have to give it merely three stars. The lack of an on/off switch was a demerit for me, as well as it’s inefficiency in pleasing multiple people at once. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-cooking-gadgets/805751/18 "2018-01-03T02:20:58Z")
[This reviewer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF-DU_CAup4) on YouTube describes the egg coming out of the Rollie thus: “It just extrudes out like a sea worm out of its tube”. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-cooking-gadgets/805751/19 "2018-01-03T14:50:01Z")
[I got one of these and it really works.](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073Q414D2/ref=asc_df_B073Q414D25323938/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=395033&creativeASIN=B073Q414D2&linkCode=df0&hvadid=216530079733&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=82374948990199972&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9024741&hvtargid=pla-348218336100) Simplicity its self. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-cooking-gadgets/805751/20 "2018-01-03T15:05:47Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > The Anova does make a perfect three-minute egg, but it does take 45 minutes to do it. This is brilliant. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-cooking-gadgets/805751.md?page=2)