The Breakfast Condiment You Should Be Poaching Eggs In

If you've already mastered the , it's time to add a little flavor to your egg poaching playbook. One easy way to do this is by experimenting with poaching liquids. Eggs can be poached in almost any flavorful liquid — tomato sauce, wine, cream, and yes, everyone's favorite breakfast condiment, maple syrup.

It might sound strange, but this salty-sugary combination is hardly unprecedented. Maple syrup and eggs are both foods that straddle the line between sweet and savory with grace, as anyone who's ever enjoyed a Sausage McGriddle or can attest. Perhaps unsurprisingly, maple-poached eggs originated in Canada, a country where many people shamelessly slather maple syrup directly on their scrambled eggs.



Canadians have been sharing maple syrup poached egg recipes since at least 1966, so this unique combo may be nothing new, but it's well worth a crack. The complex sweetness of high-quality maple syrup pairs perfectly with the mild eggy flavor to create a salty, nutty, custardy delight. Tips for poaching eggs in maple syrup Making maple syrup poached eggs is as easy as cake — basically, you're just poaching an egg (or eggs) like you normally would, but in simmering maple syrup instead of water.

However, there are a few important things to keep in mind. First, this dish requires real, high-quality maple syrup (the stuff from trees). There's a time and a place for "pancake syrup," and this is not it.

However, you can dilute the syrup with a little water and use a small saucepan to conserve your precious sap. Second, because the simmering maple syrup will be hotter and thicker than water, the eggs will reach that perfect firm-yet-runny point a bit more quickly — usually in about three minutes. Also, the eggs will likely float in the viscous syrup rather than sink as they would in water, so you may need to use a spoon to baste them in the hot syrup during the poaching process.

There's no wrong way to enjoy the sweet and salty delight of maple syrup-poached eggs, but we think they would pair wonderfully with buttery toast, atop a stack of pancakes, or perhaps even with a side of . Recommended.