Can't boil an egg?

"NO more erroneous phrase ever existed than `to boil an egg'", wrote the late M.F.K. Fisher, somewhat angrily. The secret of a properly boiled egg, as Ms Fisher understood it, "is not to boil it".

This is absolutely true. I used to boil eggs, in the standard way, and got the sort of standard results we don't really want: a rubbery white, a dry yolk, the sort of mortified food I associate with hotel breakfasts.

So, how do you cook an egg in its shell? Well, in order to achieve a result where the yolk is moist yet cooked, and the white of the egg is firm yet melting, you simply cover the eggs with cold water. Then, you bring them slowly to a near simmer, and you hold them for a few minutes over a low heat, before refreshing them, in cold water.

This method works because the entire egg is cooked gradually, rather than the hot water method where the part nearest the shell is cooked straight away, and thus by the time the high temperature reaches the yolk, the outside is overcooked. I have found, since discovering the method, that it is almost foolproof: you don't need a timer, for the low temperature is forgiving, and the gentleness of the technique will allow you leeway.

With a good fresh egg, cooked like this, we get a taste of perfection, a perfect taste for Easter.