Lakeland Poach Pods

Purchase several items the Lady shop assistance was most helpful and very pleasant cheered my shopping day up

No matter how enthusiastic and competent a home cook you are, there are always one or two things that continually elude you and just won't turn out right. Top of my 'Can't Do It' list has always been the humble poached egg. It's amazing how such a simple process can be so staggeringly difficult to master! I absolutely love poached eggs. One of the simplest yet finest little treats in life is a plump poached egg sitting on a thick slice of buttery toast - bliss. However, as I say, poaching an egg has never been my forte and I've tried all sorts of methods, usually resulting in a messy, waterlogged, stringy white and a tough yolk. Yesterday I was wandering around my local branch of Lakeland when I spotted their Poach Pods.

These are basically bright green silicone cups which are sold in pairs at £4.99 and promise perfectly poached eggs. Intrigued, I bought two and tried them out today. The instructions say to oil the pod first, which I did using sunflower oil dabbed onto some kitchen roll. A saute pan is recommended, but since I haven't got one, I used an ordinary 8" saucepan instead. You fill the saucepan with 1.5" of water, bring it to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Then crack your egg into the oiled pod, pop it in the pan and put the lid on. If you haven't got a pan lid, use a plate to cover it otherwise it won't poach properly. I have a horror of wobbly, slimy, undercooked egg white so I decided to time my large egg at the top end of the recommended time of 4-6 minutes, i.e. six minutes exactly.

After the time was up, I removed the pod from the pan with a slotted spoon, then ran a teaspoon gently around the cooked egg. Taking care not to burn your fingers, you then slide the egg out or turn it inside out onto your plate, depending on which way up you like it. Result? As promised, one perfectly poached egg which was absolutely delicious! The six minutes was exactly right for the way I like eggs, with a set but not rubbery white and a gorgeous, golden runny yolk. Obviously you may have to adjust my timings to suit yourself depending on the size of your egg and how you like them.

I'm hugely impressed by how such an uncomplicated little invention like this delivers such brilliant and much appreciated results - ten out of ten and five stars to Lakeland. Now, if only someone would invent something that would make effortless, lump-free Hollandaise sauce, I could have Eggs Benedict every day!