Many attempts have been made at gadgets to hard boil eggs. One had been satisfactory. It was a rectangular box that one plugged in, filled water up to a line, filled with a dozen eggs, put the lid on, and turned it on. It turned itself off when the eggs were done. And later on, whenever you pleased, after it was cooled off, the eggs were just right. $25 plus $2.50 tax. This disappeared out of the kitchen one day, along with my yogurt maker, which I thought would also make natto. $100 plus $10 tax. So where did they go? Mrs. Billingsley claimed to have put them on a shelf in the cupboard. Well, you can look all day, you'll never find them. "Oh, I don't remember." I knew from experience that if I should replace these gadgets, the same fate awaited them. After that there was a microwave thing that looked like an ostrich egg. It was OK, but it only cooked four eggs, and after it was microwaved it needed to be put on a counter for about an hour to finish getting the eggs hardboiled. But I usually wanted a dozen hard boiled eggs, so this started being time consuming. Well, put them in a saucepan of water. Too iffy. Then I bought the Egg Pod.
I tried the Egg Pod out. The instructions were a little involved, "to prevent explosion." This is not the right device for the illiterate. But, the eggs were ready in 13 minutes. I kept thinking, "It's time to make hard boiled eggs." But I didn't quite remember the exact instructions. This morning I found the instructions. Well well well. "As seen on TV" "Safety precautions." It mentioned explosion twice. What could go wrong? Just because I once blew up a pressure cooker? I read the safety section. OK, send this gadget to a terrorist organization.
One was to be sure to put 50 ml of water in it, if you didn't want any trouble. OK? How much is that in Merican? I looked for a telltale line on the edge of the device, but there was none. I figured it was probably a shot glass full and put it in. Not of vodka mind you. But that might be an interesting experiment for later. At the last second I thought to check a measuring cup. There was a line with "50" next to it. It went up to 250. 50 what? It was indeed 50 ml, and my little glass held slightly more water than that.
"Be sure to use the tray or the Egg Pod may explode," I read. Tray? OK. Check. Then the lid. I had a lot of lid problems. The lid had an aluminum insert that I forgot to put in, and there was a trick to getting it in and out too. OK. Done. The instructions mentioned a vent. Vent? Where's any vent? I finally located the vent. There were warnings about clamping the lid on. Weird.
But finally I was semi satisfied I could risk putting it in the microwave. The instructions called for 9 minutes. I put the Egg Pod in the microwave and awaited disaster Then allow to cool for two minutes. You see? THIS was why I needed a second hand on the kitchen clock. Then you open it carefully, (to avoid burns), and put the eggs and the lower part of the device under running water for two minutes. "Do not drain the water." This was mysterious. What tragedy awaited? Oh, because you will then clamp the top back on and shake vigorously for 10 shakes. ?? This will peel the eggs. I found this to be doubtful, but I did it. Well, them eggs weren't peeled, so I shook it some more. I never got peeled eggs but the shells surrendered easily.
And so I cut open an egg. Yes yes yes. That looks fine. I ate it. Perfect! Cooked, but not rubbery. I ate another one. Eventually I had ten hard boiled eggs, having cooked eight more.
Pluses about this gadget. You can set the microwave to 9 minutes and not bother with it again until you remember to. The eggs turn out great. The eggs shell easily. Minuses. Explosions. Confusing instructions. Measuring amounts for use in foreign countries.
What shall I do with myself now? I guess make egg salad, tuna salad, chicken salad. Then make some more hard boiled eggs and make deviled eggs. I'll never be hungry again!
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