Straight to the Level
The Nostalgia Egg Cooker produced flawless hard-boiled, soft-boiled, and poached eggs in much less time than comparable fashions. The Sprint egg cooker can cook dinner as much as an ideal dozen eggs directly, making it match for meal preppers, huge households, and lovers of deviled eggs.
At one level in my profession as a line cook dinner, hard-boiled eggs grew to become considerably of an obsession. We had simply put a dish on the menu that featured a pickled hard-boiled egg and, as a part of my every day prep, I needed to cook dinner excellent eggs with uniformly clean whites and no grey rings. I attempted baking and boiling. I attempted timing adjustments, temperature adjustments, egg ageing, including baking soda–every part I may consider. Some days, I’d assume I used to be getting shut, only for the subsequent day’s trials to end in a 15% success fee. An indication was hung over my head like a dunce cap, tallying the quantity of eggs I had wasted so far—my chef’s considerably merciless technique of motivation.
All that led to the current day, the place I cook dinner hard-boiled eggs possibly yearly when a longing for an egg salad sandwich strikes. It hardly appears value it to me. That’s most likely what stored me from including an egg cooker to my kitchen. If I don’t eat hard-boiled eggs a lot, why would I want a greater technique to cook dinner them? Nonetheless, I began this assessment with pleasure and a tinge of apprehension. Might these cookers make a believer out of me? I bought cracking to seek out out if egg cookers may ship egg-cellent outcomes or simply depart me shell-shocked (sorry).
The Winners, at a Look
Easy, compact, and inexpensive, the Nostalgia Egg Cooker is designed to churn out excellent hard-boiled eggs in a fraction of the time it might tackle the range. It egg-cels (hehe) at cooking poached and soft-boiled eggs as nicely—most versatility in a single handy machine.
Prepare dinner a full dozen directly within the Sprint egg cooker that has a transparent lid for viewing these steamy eggs. It’s simple to make use of and comes with trays for cooking as much as seven poached eggs or an omelette.
The Nordic Ware Egg Cooker makes use of your microwave as a substitute of a built-in heating component to steam eggs to the proper temperature. It’s a easy system that gained’t burn out with time.
The Checks
Critical Eats
- Exhausting-Boiled Egg Take a look at: I began testing by utilizing the machines for his or her main perform: hard-boiling eggs. I positioned 4 eggs straight from the fridge into the cooker and adopted the guide’s directions for attaining excellent hard-boiled eggs. After the cooking cycle, I chilled the eggs, peeled them, and minimize them in half to examine the inside. I seemed for even cooking of the whites and yolks with out under- or overcooking points just like the dreaded green-gray ring.
- Poached Egg Take a look at: Many of the fashions I examined claimed to have the ability to make poached eggs in addition to hard-boiled, so I selected that for my subsequent check. I doused the included pans in nonstick cooking spray and cracked a couple of eggs in, then added the requisite quantity of water. As soon as completed, I slid the poached eggs out of the tray and onto a dinner plate to find out if any of the whites have been unset or yolks overcooked.
- Tender-Boiled Egg Take a look at (Winners Solely): For the cookers that handed the earlier two assessments, I additionally examined every machine’s capability to provide soft-boiled eggs. The cookers use the identical technique as cooking hard-boiled eggs, however should nail the proper time for a delicate however not runny yolk. Once more, I set the machines in line with their included instructions, then chilled the eggs to cease cooking earlier than peeling and slicing them in half to view the yolk.
- Cleansing and Ease of Use: All through testing, I famous how simple or tough the cookers have been to arrange and function. I awarded factors for dishwasher-safe components and lids that could possibly be lifted with out steam burns.
What We Discovered
How Do Egg Cookers Work?
Critical Eats
The entire egg cookers I examined function equally (save for the Nordic Ware, which makes use of the microwave as a warmth supply as a substitute of a built-in system). Very similar to a rice cooker, a specific amount of water is added to the equipment, and a metallic scorching plate on the underside boils the water. The steam rises and cooks the eggs. The quantity of water added to the cooker determines how well-done the eggs develop into: much less for soft-boiled; extra for hard-boiled. As soon as the water evaporates, the machine detects a temperature rise and shuts off routinely, typically with an accompanying audible alert. It’s a easy however good system that takes the guesswork out of boiling eggs and saves you from babysitting a saucepan on the range.
Egg Cookers Are Time Savers
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The entire egg cookers have been in a position to hard-boil eggs in 10 to twenty minutes, with the Nordic Ware appearing as an outlier at 9 minutes 30 seconds, due to its microwave heating technique. This pace isn’t nearly wattage– microwave power heats meals by thrilling water molecules straight, making it sooner than an electrical heating plate. Evaluate that to the 13 minutes that J. Kenji López-Alt outlines in his deep dive on hard-boiled eggs plus the time it takes a saucepan to convey three to 4 cups of water to a rolling boil, and also you’re simply 20 minutes or extra on the stovetop. With an egg cooker, you possibly can set it and stroll away—no want to hang around within the kitchen. The egg cookers solely must convey lower than an inch of water to a simmer to start out cooking, and you’ll add the eggs at first with out risking cracking, in distinction to the unstable nature of the stovetop technique. With each strategies, you’ll nonetheless must cease the cooking course of with a dunk in ice water, however egg cookers streamline the method and are far more hands-off than cooking in a saucepan.
Learn the Handbook
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After I’m not testing an equipment, I don’t normally learn the guide earlier than utilizing it. Most frequently, I can intuit the way in which to function the machine with out step-by-step directions. These cookers are a bit totally different. The success of every egg cooker relies upon not simply on the design of the machine itself, but additionally on how nicely the included directions information water measurement. Some fashions include clearly marked measuring cups that make it simple to get constant outcomes, whereas others led to under- or overcooked eggs, even after I adopted the instructions to the letter. I appreciated manuals that included the water measurements along with the cup, just like the Sprint, Hamilton Seashore, and Bella. For the others, if you happen to lose the included measuring cup, you’re by yourself for calculating how a lot water is required to cook dinner eggs to your required doneness.
Skip the Piercer
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Lots of the egg cookers included a pointy metallic piercing device hooked up to the measuring cup to puncture the egg’s shell in order that steam can escape. The thought is that piercing helps stop eggs from cracking throughout cooking and may make them simpler to peel. However after testing, I’m satisfied this characteristic causes extra issues than it solves. Not solely does the Egg Board of America explicitly suggest in opposition to piercing (to keep away from introducing micro organism), however in a number of cookers, just like the Elite Gourmand Fast Egg Cooker, the piercer led to egg whites leaking out and burning on the hotplate, creating a multitude. Even on successful fashions that included a piercer, just like the Sprint Fast Egg Cooker, I discovered that peeling went simply superb with out utilizing this device. Backside line: A built-in piercer isn’t an improve or an important characteristic. In case your cooker features a piercer, you don’t have to make use of it, and don’t fear in case your mannequin skips it—it’s not a deal-breaker.
Small Particulars Make a Large Affect
Critical Eats
Whereas my testing centered on the primary operation of every cooker, small design particulars made a surprisingly giant distinction in ease-of-use. Cookers with longer energy cords have been simpler to place on crowded counter tops and away from wooden cupboards that may be broken by the launched steam. Clear lids, just like the one on the Sprint Egg Cooker, made it simpler to observe cooking with out lifting the lid and disrupting cooking. Plus, I really discovered myself having fun with watching all of the little eggs take their flip within the sauna.
Even one thing so simple as non-slip ft or a well-placed deal with on the lid made the method really feel smoother and safer. It’s these little conveniences that helped separate the enough fashions from the winners.
The Standards: What to Search for in an Egg Cooker
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egg cooker ought to do one factor nicely: cook dinner eggs to your required doneness with out a lot fuss. Search for an egg cooker with easy controls, a clearly marked measuring cup, and an audible alert to let you realize when the cycle is completed. Capability is necessary, and in case your family consumes a variety of eggs, then you definately’ll need a cooker that may accommodate not less than 10, if not a full dozen.
Design-wise, I appreciated sure small particulars, like longer energy cords, clear lids you possibly can peek by means of, and lids that raise off simply with out scalding you with steam or requiring two fingers. Equipment like poaching or omelette trays are good to have and add to the cooker’s versatility.
Our Favourite Egg Cookers
What we preferred: It’s at all times nice when the very best merchandise in a assessment can also be one of the crucial inexpensive. The Nostalgia Egg Cooker rings up at an inexpensive worth and was the one cooker to ship excellent outcomes throughout all three assessments. Like most of the different fashions, the Nostalgia egg cooker depends on steam and evaporating water to cook dinner the eggs and sign the top of the cooking cycle. This mannequin was by far the quickest, whether or not I used to be poaching eggs or hard-boiling. For instance, the Nostalgia accomplished cooking hard-boiled eggs in just below 13 minutes, whereas the Chef’s Alternative did the identical in a whopping 19 minutes. Likewise, the Nostalgia cooked poached eggs in 4 minutes and 38 seconds, with the second quickest (Elite Gourmand) trailing at seven minutes and 5 seconds. Based mostly on these outcomes, I may safely infer that wattage has little to do with cooking pace, because the Nostalgia has one of many lowest wattages of any on this assessment.
What we didn’t like: The guide doesn’t embody the water quantities for cooking, so maintain monitor of the measuring cup. The only omelette tray doubles because the poached egg tray, which cuts down on free items but additionally limits you to cooking a single poached egg at a time until you need to nestle two eggs collectively. The plastic components will not be dishwasher-safe, however they have been simple to scrub by hand.
Key Specs
- Supplies: Plastic
- Dimensions: 6.34 x 6.34 x 7.17 inches
- Wattage: 350
- Egg capability: 7
- Equipment: Omelette tray, poached egg tray, measuring cup with egg piercer
- Wire size: 22 inches
- Dishwasher-safe components?: No
What we preferred: The Sprint egg cooker is a double-decker mannequin and a meal prepper’s dream. It’s the biggest egg cooker I examined, with sufficient room to hard-boil a dozen eggs in a single go, poach as much as seven eggs, or cook dinner a three-egg omelette with minimal effort. The cleverly designed two-tiered rack system retains eggs snugly in place, and the clear dome permits you to peek in as they cook dinner. Regardless of the peak distinction, each tiers delivered evenly cooked outcomes, even when absolutely loaded.
The clearly marked measuring cup takes the guesswork out of doneness. Simply fill to the road, press the button, and stroll away. When you’re carried out, it’s simple to clean. Each half however the base is dishwasher-safe. The poached egg trays are thoughtfully formed to not less than considerably resemble a historically poached egg. The egg-shaped gadget is accessible in a rainbow of colours, so this cooker isn’t simply sensible—it’s type of cute, too.
What we didn’t: The soft-boiled eggs got here out a bit overcooked, extra like medium-boiled. General, I used to be keen to miss this because of the machine’s giant capability and given the truth that one may merely make a psychological be aware so as to add barely much less water for this technique of cooking to nail the consistency. The scale of this cooker is bigger than others, nevertheless it’s a worthy trade-off if capability is necessary to you.
Key Specs
- Supplies: Plastic
- Dimensions: 8 x 8 x 9 inches
- Wattage: 500
- Egg capability: 12
- Equipment: Omelette tray, poached egg tray (makes 7 directly), measuring cup with egg piercer
- Wire size: 28 inches
- Dishwasher-safe components?: Sure
What we preferred: This cooker depends on a easy circuitry-free design to cook dinner eggs. Meaning no buttons to press, no cords to plug in, and no likelihood of malfunctioning electronics. Simply fill the bottom with water, pop within the eggs, and microwave in line with the included chart, which supplies you timing directions primarily based on what number of eggs you need to cook dinner and your microwave’s wattage. It’s light-weight, simple to scrub, and the smallest I examined at simply over six inches excessive. The lid nests into the bottom for much more compact storage. For people who’ve restricted counter area or those that simply need a no-fuss device that will get the job carried out, this one’s refreshingly simple and inexpensive.
What we didn’t: It will probably solely cook dinner 4 eggs directly and may’t make omelettes or poached eggs. Past that, the most important draw back is that getting it out of the microwave was somewhat sketchy. The bottom stays filled with boiling water, and there isn’t any deal with or heat-proof grip to assist with maneuvering. One unsuitable tilt and also you’re risking a steam burn or a lap filled with boiling water. (Grippy oven mitts will assist.)
Key Specs
- Supplies: Plastic and aluminum
- Dimensions: 5.5 x 5.5 x 6.2 inches
- Wattage: Not relevant
- Egg capability: 4
- Equipment: None
- Wire size: Not relevant
- Dishwasher-safe components?: No
The Competitors
- Cuisinart Egg Central: This cooker gave nice outcomes till I attempted to make soft-boiled eggs. The measuring cup has the egg doneness printed subsequent to 2 totally different water stage strains, with the guide suggesting to fill between the strains for soft-boiled eggs. I adopted the directions…which led to disastrously undercooked eggs that collapsed right into a pile of egg and shell goo.
- Chef’s Alternative Gourmand Egg Cooker: That is the one electrical cooker within the check that doesn’t depend on an evaporative approach to find out doneness. As a substitute, you fill the reservoir with water—no must measure—and select your most well-liked doneness. The difficulty with this technique lies with the trickiness of the dial. There was no actual technique to know if the dial was precisely counting down, resulting in inconsistent outcomes. The hard-boiled eggs have been at occasions overcooked and different occasions completely carried out.
- Bella Electrical Egg Cooker: This cooker overcooked poached eggs and produced some eggs that have been exhausting to peel cleanly.
- Hamilton Seashore Electrical Egg Cooker: I actually needed to love this cooker due to its hefty nonstick trays. Nonetheless, it doesn’t have an audible alert to let you realize when the eggs are carried out cooking, and it persistently overcooked the poached eggs. The hard-boiled eggs got here out good, and this machine may nonetheless be choice if you wish to make egg bites.
- Elite Gourmand Fast Egg Cooker: Eggs cooked erratically on this cooker, with one bordering medium-boiled whereas the opposite three have been solidly hard-boiled.
FAQs
How do you employ an egg cooker?
All of the cookers I examined for this assessment used steam to cook dinner the eggs. The essential thought is that you just add the eggs to the cooker, add some water, and cook dinner, both by the machine’s built-in heating component or a microwave. Most fashions include a measuring cup that tells you precisely how a lot water to make use of relying on what number of eggs you’re cooking and the way delicate or exhausting you need the yolks.
How do you clear an egg cooker?
All the time double-check your egg cooker’s guide to find out one of the simplest ways to scrub it. Lots of the machines I examined had a heating plate that could possibly be cleaned with a moist fabric or rubbed with vinegar within the occasion of exhausting water residue. Some had dishwasher-safe components and trays, whereas others needed to be hand-washed..
Why We’re the Specialists
- Taylor Murray has labored in meals and meals media for over 10 years, together with in award-winning eating places like Eleven Madison Park. She has written extensively for Critical Eats. (Take a look at her opinions of enameled forged iron skillets and vacuum sealers.)
- Taylor examined eight egg cookers by cooking dozens of eggs in every. She used the machines to organize hard-boiled, soft-boiled, and poached eggs.

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