How rare it is to get a perfectly poached egg. I have tried in the most distinguished restaurants in the world, where whirlpools are made in lightly salted or vinegared water, the egg is slipped in and cooked for 4 minutes. It is then taken out with a slotted spoon and its dismal skeins of white snipped. Its final appearance may be aesthetically pleasing, but still the egg tastes watery and sometimes, on being punctured, will let out a gulp of cloudy water, ruining the delicate sauce it is covered in. I shall be a heretic about poached eggs. I believe in using a poaching pan. I enjoy the concave little eggs cratered with pockets of air and lightly smeared with butter. Lightly grease each poaching cup with a little butter, add the eggs and cook for 4 minutes.