Do real men eat poached eggs?

While most men will shrug at eating fried, scrambled or hard boiled eggs, they might take pause at the word poached!

A poached egg is one that has been cooked suspended in simmering water. A technique that often requires some practice; something I haven't had much luck at. In addition, some guys might think this method to be a bit too 'girly'!

Another, and I feel better method, involves using a steamer such as the Excelsteel egg steamer I recently purchased at Amazon. This four cup poacher literally steams the egg(s) into submission. The end result is a soft egg with barely cooked white and a runny yolk.

So, why bother to poach an egg in the first place? The answer lies with how well the protein in the egg survives the cooking process. When you fry, scramble or hard boil an egg some of the protein is damaged and therefore not utilized fully by the body. Not so a poached egg. As a matter of fact, an egg made in this manner is pretty much entirely absorbed by the intestines leaving little is any 'residue' to be excreted later. (A fact that was exploited in the early Apollo Space Program when food scientists were looking for foods that would not have the astronauts needing to take a dump during the early week long flights). Good steak works in a similar manner and, in point of fact, steak and eggs were the meal of choice just prior to liftoff!

Well, I think that answers that! If a poached egg was good enough for our astronauts, then it's good enough for us males! Next time, I'll discuss coddled eggs for all you Democrats out there!