SUPERSIZE YOUR SCRAMBLED EGGS

DELIA SMITH educated the nation on boiling eggs in her landmark book, how To Cook, in 1999. Twentyone years later, her method is still deemed fail-safe by both amateurs and professionals.

Bring a pan of cold water to the boil, gently lower in an egg (at room temperature; not chilled) and allow it to simmer for a minute. Take the pan off the heat, put the lid on and continue to cook the egg for six minutes if you like a runny yolk, seven if you like it firmer.

When it comes to scrambling and poaching, techniques differ wildly. Gordon Ramsay has a seven- step technique, taking the mixture on and off the heat repeatedly for three minutes to get the texture just right. he then adds seasoning and — controversially — a spoon of crème fraiche.

MasterChef’s John Torode also uses crème fraiche in his scrambled eggs, while Jamie Oliver advocates nothing but butter. heston Blumenthal goes low and slow, stirring his eggs in a bowl suspended over boiling water for up to 20 minutes.

As for poaching, while some chefs (Gordon Ramsay, Theo Randall and Prue Leith) advise adding vinegar to the water to stop the egg from separating, others ( including Jamie, Delia and Mary Berry) say this is unnecessary. Nigella cracks her eggs into a tea strainer (to get rid of the stringy bits). Mary uses a saucer. While Jamie wraps the raw egg in cling film.

MY METHOD: For runny boiled eggs, it’s got to be the Delia method: simmered for a minute on the heat and then six minutes off. I scramble my eggs with nothing but butter in a saucepan over a very low heat; it can take up to ten minutes.

For poaching, vinegar makes no difference. Use fresh (not supermarket) eggs, swirl the water and simmer for three minutes exactly.