Boiling an egg must be one of the most basic, yet fundamental elements of cooking and it never ceases to amaze me when I read stories about people who can't figure out how to boil an egg, but as Delia says, "even the simplest of cooking demands a degree of care and attention". The thing with boiling an egg is getting it just right...20 seconds or so over the recommended cooking time could see your soft boiled egg turn into a medium soft boiled egg, and similarly, cook for 20 seconds less and your egg will be sloppy and not cooked right through, so even though we may laugh at those of us who cannot do what we refer to as the simple task of boiling an egg,,,,is it really as easy as we make it out to be? Well to those of you who do struggle to get a boiled egg just right - to the rescue is the egg-per'fect egg timer, gauranteed to cook your eggs perfectly every time.


***The egg-perfect egg timer***

What I love about this timer is there are no bells or whistles with this one, in it's simple and ingenious form, this egg timer comes in the form of a regular egg, only with a flat bottom for accurate pan placement. The egg shaped clear plastic timer has a red colour changing middle section which according to the scientific part, changes colour by measuring heat and not time to ensure that your eggs are cooked perfectly every time. We as individuals will obviously have our own personal preferences in relation to how we like our eggs cooked and the egg timer has thought of this. Presented in the colour changing middle there are 3 main sections you should focus on, Soft, Medium and hard, and there are also in between lines so if you want it medium soft or, medium hard you can.....it's kind of like cooking a steak....you can have it rare, medium rare, medium, medium well or well done, you just have to take the eggs out at the appropriate time to satisfy that personal preference.

***How easy is it to use***

The simple answer is very easy. Pop your eggs into a small pan filled with tap water, and in amongst your eggs pop your egg timer. The egg timer will just sit on the bottom of the pan while the water slowly starts to heat up. As you watch your eggs simmer away you will eventually start to see the coloured centre start to turn into a darker shade of red starting from the outside and working its way into the middle. The important thing to remember (as mesmerised as you may be at this point) is to take your eggs out of the simmering water when the dark red shade reaches the stage on the egg timer that matches how you want your eggs to be cooked. The little white lines indicate when you should take the egg out and should ensure that your egg is cooked to the desired level.

***Does it deliver the results***

I have been using the egg-perfect egg timer for years now as my parents have one and I have even bought one for my bottom drawer for when I get my own house. Time and time again this egg timer has delivered exceptional performance and I never cease to be amazed at how perfect my eggs end up every time, it really couldn't be easier. It doesn't matter if you're boiling 1 egg or 5, the egg timer will still ensure accurate results every time. It's the simplicity of this product that amazes me, and the self explanatory way it has been designed, you only have to look at it to know exactly how it should work. The only time this timer will not work is if it falls victim to human error and you walk away and leave your eggs to bubble away to a hard boiled black rubbery mess, so word of warning, keep an eye on the timer and the process is foolproof.

***How to care for your egg-timer***

Again,the timer is incredibly easy to look after as well as use, the only advice I can give you is be careful not to plunge the unit into cold water immediately after boiling as, from past experience, this totally screws up whatever element contained in the centre of the timer and it no longer works effectively....this happened to one of our first timers and we had to replace it. The timer we are still using has been going strong for 5 years plus now so it really is a durable little kitchen tool and if you're like me and my family, you will keep your egg timer in your cutlery drawer for easy access and neat storage....it's small enough not to be intrusive and doesn't take up a lot of space in your kitchen.

***The cost***

You can get the egg perfect egg timer at a large selection of online and highstreet retailers, and of course the price varies from retailer to retailer. We bought our one from John Lewis for £6, which may seem expensive for a little plastic egg, but given that my parents have had there's for over 5 years I think £6 is a small price to pay. Some retailers charge slighty less than this and some slightly more, but £6 seems to be around the average price.

***My recommendation***

If you regularly boil eggs and you're looking for a nifty little tool to make your egg boiling life easier, I highly recommend this. Perhaps you like your egg timer to make a noise?, unfortunately if that's the road you want to go down then the egg-perfect egg timer won't be very helpful, but if you're happy for your egg timer to silently bubble away in the pan with your eggs then this is definately the way to go. The colour change is so obvious that you can't get it wrong, and I can gaurantee that every time I've used the egg timer the results achieved have been as desired, I wouldn't swap this egg timer for anything else as it really is foolproof and it comes highly recommended in my book.