The other way is to increase the acidity of how you're cooking it. "Vinegar is an inherently acidic material, so if we add a few drops of vinegar into that boiling water that is going to increase the rate of denaturing and it's going to make that happen faster and help the poached egg hold its shape better."
Vinegar in the water: Never. Vinegar firms up the whites, but the viscous portion of the whites are going to firm up anyway (and the runny portion is still going to be stringy). The whites always cook faster than the yolks. Firming the whites faster with vinegar simply overcooks them before the yolks are ready.
Heat the water: Add enough water to come 1 inch up the side of a narrow, deep 2-quart saucier. Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 2 teaspoons white vinegar and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Vinegar lowers the coagulation temperature of the proteins in egg whites. This quickly sets the outside surface of the egg forming a skin that prevents the whites from feathering out into the water.
I add a small amount of distilled white vinegar to the poaching water for faster coagulation of the egg whites. It also helps to make the egg whites more tender by reducing the intensity of egg protein bonds. The vinegar causes the proteins in the egg white to unravel and loosely bond back together as they cook.
Vinegar does help set the albumen more quickly, which helps prevent feathering, but people with a keen sense of smell can taste the vinegar in the poached egg, which is why I don't recommend adding it.
Salt increases the density of the water which makes more of the egg white float and splay out. In other words, a not-so-pretty poached egg. Verdict: Don't do it.
Always start with a fresh egg
When poaching an egg, it is recommended you use fresh eggs because of the “yolk quality”. In a fresh egg, the yolk sits up high, and the white is thick and closely surrounds the yolk. An older egg has a flat yolk that breaks easily, and a thin, watery white.
Not having the water at the right temperature when you add the eggs. If you add eggs to water that's at a rolling boil (when it's too hot), the egg white will break apart, leaving you with a pot full of wispy bits. If you add the eggs to water that's too cool, the white and yolk are likely to separate from one another.
A really soft poached egg should take around 2 minutes and a soft-to-firm one will need 4 minutes (it depends on the size of the egg and whether you're using it straight from the fridge). To check if it's done, carefully remove your egg from the pan with a slotted spoon and give it a gentle prod with a teaspoon.
If the water is hot enough (near boiling), salt increases the density of the cooking liquid just enough to make the egg bob to the surface when it's about perfectly done. While you can certainly poach eggs without the salt and vinegar, they'll want to sit on the bottom of the pan and thus cook unevenly.
Add Vinegar and Salt to the Poaching Water, vinegar helps the eggs cook a bit faster and with better texture. Salt adds flavor from the very beginning. Both together are a must (read more below).
The vinegar in the water makes the eggs easier to peel. Here's why: The vinegar's acid not only dissolves some of the calcium carbonate in the shell, it also helps the whites set faster. Running the hard-boiled eggs under cold running water as you're peeling, meanwhile, helps the shell separate from the membrane.
How To Boil Eggs Perfectly: Place eggs in a single layer at the bottom of a large saucepan or pot. Add enough water to cover the eggs with at least 1 in (2.5 cm) of water over them. Add a tablespoon (15 mL) of vinegar and a tablespoon (14 g) of sea salt to the pot.
Using milk as your poaching liquid will inject sweetness and creaminess into your morning egg. Melissa from Smells Like Brownies has a step-by-step guide to making the perfect milk poached eggs. Just heat milk with a some salt and spices, cook an egg in it, and you've got yourself a full-flavored poached egg.
Keep the water temperature at a low, gentle level to prevent the egg whites from separating from the yolks. You can use a timer to dial in your perfect cook time. If you overcook poached eggs, they can become tough and rubbery, so it's best to check the eggs regularly to avoid an overdone egg.
You can also poach several eggs at once, but make sure there's room in your pan for each one to have a little elbow room. Crack them into separate measuring cups and slip them into the water one by one. You'll also need to extend the cooking time by about 30 seconds for each extra egg.
But when it comes to poached, always remember — the fresher the better. Add vinegar: I always recommend adding a tablespoon of vinegar (preferably a mild-tasting vinegar, like rice or apple cider vinegar) to the water before adding your eggs. It helps the whites to coagulate more quickly.