The results of the silicone egg cups (left) and OXO egg poachers (right). 

I can make a great roast dinner. I can bake a souffle. I’ll whip up dinner from pretty much any random pantry ingredients that are knocking around. Crispy pork belly? No problem. I fancy myself as a bit of a foodie and a fairly good cook. But the one thing that still eludes me is a perfectly poached egg. And it isn’t just me! I’ve reliably been told by actual chefs that poached eggs are HARD.

While fried eggs require nothing but a drop of oil and a pan, poached eggs seem to require a lot of time, a lot of mess, a dash of magic, and maybe even a prayer for good measure. Yet it still always ends up with me staring into a pot of cloudy egg-white-filled water, fishing out something which definitely doesn’t resemble the beautiful eggs benedict at my favorite brunch spot.

So I’ve finally given up on the traditional poaching methods, and decided to test out four gadgets: An egg poaching pan, silicone egg poaching cups, OXO egg poachers, and egg boilers. 

First up, the good old egg poaching pan. My parents had one of these when I was a kid, not that I ever remember it being used. I’m pretty sure my mother had the same experience as me and decided just to fry eggs and save herself the trouble, especially for a family of six.

One of the big pros here is that you can do four eggs at a time. It’s pretty straightforward, and hard to mess up. The eggs can’t escape – you can clearly see them cooking so you don’t have to guess whether they’re done or not, and the lid makes sure they don’t cook too fast on the bottom and too slow on the top.

Cons? You need space for an entire separate pan in your kitchen for something you probably won’t use on a daily basis, it’s a bit more expensive than other options, and the egg inserts are often pretty difficult to clean. You can bypass that a little bit by using a cooking spray to coat the cups first, though.

Next was the silicone egg poaching cups. These were my favorite and work very similarly to the pan, and cost under $10. Are they technically poached eggs? Not exactly, which is also true of the egg poaching pan. Because the eggs don’t actually touch the water, they’re more baked eggs. But by closing the lid you do get a fair amount of steam and condensation, and they’re pretty much foolproof.

Personally, I don’t mind the lack of water – it makes the egg white firmer and produces a better texture in my opinion, even if I wouldn’t say it around Gordon Ramsay.

Plus, they’re affordable, always result in eggs which are well shaped, and they take up almost no space at all. I’ve successfully used four eggs at a time. Although it’s not necessary because the silicone is non-stick, I also use a bit of olive oil spray on these to ensure they slide out easily and totally intact.

The OXO egg poachers have had rave reviews, and I couldn’t quite understand how they’d work in practice, so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. You simply drop the egg into the top, and the funnel directs the egg to the bottom section where water can circulate without your egg floating off never to be seen again.

Though this is close to cooking poached eggs the traditional way, there is one major flaw: The egg poachers are huge. The stock photo may make them look egg-sized, but they’re not. Not only do you need a massive pan and a lot of water, but I found they were usually too big for my eggs as well (though cooking two eggs in one poacher worked out well enough). If you have a very wide pan and a big enough plate on the stove, this might not be a problem for you.

However, if they were a little smaller, you’d be able to make more eggs at once or use a regular pan to fit them in. That said, these nifty little tools do allow you to truly poach your eggs in water, which is a big bonus if you’re a poaching purist. They also give you a clear guideline as to where to fill the pan up to. These are a good choice if you can already “sort of” get your poached eggs right, want the real deal, and just need a little help to get them consistent.

I’d seen these egg makers in other people’s houses but never actually used one. Though they work in a similar way to the egg poaching pan, they’re more like slow cookers in that you plug them into the wall. One big benefit is that you can use them to cook eggs multiple ways. So boiled, poached, and omelets could all be on the menu. There’s also no guesswork involved, as everything from water lines to timers are already clearly set up for you.

But the downside is that the poached eggs are strangely shaped, it’s not the fastest option, and…well…you could also cook all of those types of eggs with your standard kitchen equipment. If you really struggle with cooking eggs properly, this could be a good option. Plenty of people love how convenient and straightforward it is to use. And if it gets you eating eggs more often, I’m all for it! But if you want to serve perfectly presented poached eggs to your friends for brunch, this probably isn’t the right tool for you.

The winner? The silicone egg cups for price point, ease of use, and easy storage and cleaning. Now I can enjoy eggs and avo on sourdough toast at home like a true millennial – and maybe use the spare money to buy a mansion or something.