Used in private homes and across public dining rooms and hotels egg coddlers were a desirable table piece for elegant dining. Using an egg boiler or steamer, eggs could be prepared at the table and served hot and fresh to diners.
A frame within the egg coddler holds four eggs under the boiling water keeping them warm, and the cover prevents hot steam from escaping and assists the boiling process.
A burner sits underneath to maintain the temperature. The burner would originally have had a methylated spirit tablet
The earliest egg boilers date from the 1790s.They were usually oval, hemispherical or cylindrical in shape, on openwork feet, with the lamp resting between the feet . 19th-century examples were designed with complementary ornament such as the chicken finial on the lid and engraved farmyard scenes. The final lid ornament is one of the main characteristicsof collecting and sourcing egg coddlers. It consists of simple black wooden knobs or the more desirable cast animals like hens eaglesand more obscure ones like kangaroos.
Some of these coddlers were sterling silver but a greater number were silver plate.
The majority of old plate was made by master silversmiths and just as much work went into the manufacture of an article as went into one of solid silver. This fact is often forgotten.
It is unusual to find an English Breakfast Egg Coddler, Boiler, Steamer that is complete! Often the internal frame for holding four eggs and the spirit burner are missing. We have some fine pieces from 19thcentury silversmiths / makers including William Hutton, Walker & Hall and Mappin and Webb. Many of our decorative coddlers have the desirable animal finials.
Walker & Hall were important manufacturing and retailing silversmiths in the 19th century, with a factory in Sheffield that supplied markets throughout the world with electroplated silver
We have some impressive egg coddlers, many with all original parts still in place. Most of our metal coddlers are in silver plate. We have collated some with plain and simple design others have fabulous hand chasing and embossed decoration. We even have some later European copper examples.
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Butter the inside of the egg coddler and the lid. Beat the egg with parsley and chives, season to taste with salt and pepper and pour into the coddler. Screw on the lid and stand in a pan of boiling water taking care that the water level only reaches halfway up the coddler. Simmer for approximately 10 minutes.
The inside of the egg coddler is first buttered to flavor the egg and allow it to be removed more easily. A raw egg (sometimes with additional flavorings) is broken into the coddler, which is then placed in a pan of near-boiling water for 7 to 8 minutes to achieve a solid white and runny yolk.
To use, you would crack an egg into the coddler, screw the top on and then place it into a pot with water to cook. It's a very simple process to coddle eggs and the results are delicious, especially when serves with warm buttery toast.
There is no record of when egg coddlers were invented or who was the first to manufacture them, but they started to become popular in Europe in the late 19th century. The first known Worcester coddlers were made at Grainger's China Works in the 1880s. They were made of earthenware, fired at a very high temperature.
What are coddled eggs? Think of coddled eggs as poached eggs' easier-to-prepare cousin. Since they're cooked in ramekins, they take the shape of the dish, perfectly round and about ½" thick. Traditionally, they're simmered in a water bath on the stove.
In fact, they are regular eggs cooked in a coddler to produce a gorgeous silky soft egg. Coddled eggs are similar to both a poached egg or a soft-boiled egg but, in my mind, better than boiled and easier to make than poached.
You measure the water, put it into the well, place the flat ring in place, add the eggs, put on the lid and flip the on/off switch. When the cooker boils dry, it turns off automatically when the eggs are cooked just right. For Hard boiled eggs, use the tube on the top to measure the water.
Egg coddlers come in four sizes. We're interested in the two smaller ones: The Standard Size was designed to prepare one egg. It nominally measures 6½ centimeter from the base to the top of the cup, but there can be considerable variation.
Cousin to the egg cup is the egg coddler, a larger device made to prepare and then enjoy baked, or coddled eggs in. Says What's Cooking America: “An egg coddler is a porcelain or pottery cup with a lid that is used to prepare a dish called coddled eggs.
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