This is one a my favorite breakfasts. When I was a child I only got this for breakfast when I was sick. Somehow it seems my mother thought a sick child should eat an egg. I remember once, when I was maybe in the first grade I told my mother that I was sick. She said I could stay home, but I would have to eat a fried egg. I went to school. It was winter, and I had to walk about a mile, but nothing was going to get me to eat a fried egg. Maybe that was my mother's way of seeing if we were really sick. But the poached egg was another thing all-together. Later that year, not much later, I got the chicken pox. I stayed home quite a while, and I got poached egg on toast with hot milk. I remember it was still very cold outside when I was finally well enough to go back to school. I had been given a present of a big new box of crayons and I was taking it to school. On the way I went through a woods on a hill and I fell and my crayons went all over the place, but I bet I made sure I found everyone of them before continuing on my way. I loved crayons - I still do.1 egg
2/3 cup milk
1 buttered piece of toast (I like wheatberry best)
a pinch of salt
a dash of pepper
Put the milk in a small pan and start heating it up.Make the toast and put it into a soup plate.
When the milk is getting visibly warm add the egg and salt and pepper.
Continue heating and when it gets foamy put a lid on it.At this point you need to keep a careful watch on the pot, as the milk can boil over at the drop of a hat.
If this should happen, add a bit more milk to replace what is now all over the stove, and a bit more salt and pepper.
When the egg is done to your likeness, turn off the heat, and using a pan cake turner, put the egg on the toast.Then pour the milk over it and enjoy.
21 comments:
This is the recipe my mother used too. I am 29 years old and to this day still love it. I have not met any other person that has heard of it this way or anyone who thinks it sounds appetizing b/c of the milk made soggy toast, but i assure you this is delicious.
Mike C.
My grandmother, and my mother, both prepared this for me as a kid. I don't have it that often, but when I do, it's a trip down memory lane (and a very pleasant one).
As Mike C. said, I've not met a single person (until this blog) who had either heard of it or thought it sounded worth eating. But to me, YUM!
My tips? Use homemade bread (it's worth making a loaf just for this!), and toast it nice and dark. That darkness adds a nice flavor note to the finished product that was always a trademark of my grandmother's preparation. (She always made homemade bread, so using Wonder or something just never was "right" to me tastebuds.)
Enjoy!
Wes
I like the homemade bread idea. I make it often. Usually what I like with left-over homemade bread is to put butter and vegemite on it, but of late I can't seem to find any vegemite! Most irritating. But now I can think of having it for breakfast.
As a child I loved burnt toast, but boy did I get into trouble when I forgot to put the dial back to normal. As soon as I smelt burnt toast I knew I was in trouble. I have had that with the poached egg, and it is good.
That was easy...
Mom made this for me when i was sick too. I was feeling sick and had to stay home from work, but making this made me feel much better.
I'm 56 years old and my mom and grandmother also used to make poached eggs in milk only when we were sick. I love it and make it only once in a while, but enjoy it so. Does anyone know the origin? My grandmother was born in Norway.
Funny you should mention Norway. My Dads (& my) all-time fav breakfast treat is the milk poached egg on dark homemade toast, w a dash of pepper on top. Oh yeah, we're Norse square-heads to the core. My guess is that it took the simple no-nonsense people of Norway to come up with such a simple, efficient & totally delightful way to make egg, YUM!
Kurt J.
There are no Norwegians in my background. But my mother always called scrambled eggs egarota, which I think is some kind of Scandinavian word. My great-grandfather was Danish but I'll bet he never cooked.
This is a favorite comfort food. I have perfected making it in the microwave. Heat the milk first for about 1 min. Then add eggs, puncture the eggs with the shell, cover with saran wrap and cook for about 1 min 30 seconds or to taste. Add toast, enjoy.
Sounds like a very clever idea. But unfortunately I don't have a microwave. I developed cancer right where I would stand next to the door of the microwave waiting for my grand-daughters bottle to heat up, so whether it had anything to do with the problem or not I got rid of the thing. There are occasions when we miss it, but c'est la vie. I'm pretty okay now. The thing I miss the most is being able to soften a stick of butter for baking.
My Mom made this for me often as a child (I'm 49). It's my favorite way to have eggs. I too have never met anyone who heard of poaching a egg in milk. About 16 years ago while staying at Chalet Lake Louise I requested my eggs cooked this way and the chef was curious about the recipe's origin. I had never thought about it. My Mom and Grandmom were German. When I asked my Mom she wasn't sure of its origin either.
How interesting. My grandmother on my mother's side was very American, dating back to the Mayflower. But on her father's side, my great-grandmother was either Austrian or German. She said her name was Anna Zinta von Diltz, but I'm very suspect about the von. I think she might have exaggerated herself. But my mother used to make absolutely fabulous sourbraten, which is of course German or Austrian, so I suspect she learned some of her cooking from that great-grandmother.
Thank you for posting this! I was just about ready to call my mom and ask her how to make it. She would make this for my brother and I when we were little (I'm 21) and it was always one of my favorites. :)
Thank you so much for this recipe, you're a life saver. The night before Father's Day my husband told me that he remembered eating this with his father as a toddler (His father died when he was 3). I had never heard of it so I googled it and found your recipe. Though I cooked them a little longer than I had planned too the yolk wasn't runny but had just set, he said they were better than he remembered. I'll definitely be making these again for him.
By the way, he doesn't know where his mother got this recipe but he thinks it was passed down through his father's family and they are definitely German.
Beth
My Grandma made this as part of her usual breakfast rotation. Personaly I just throw 2 eggs in 1 cup of milk Nuke it for 3 minutes (time will vary depending on your Microwave) and salt and pepper to taste
My whole Ancestry on both sides is German (clear back to the 1630s). I to however had never found anyone outside my Family that had ever heard of doing this.
My dad would make this for me when I was sick as a child. It was my favorite comfort food. The toast fills u up , the protien from the eggs is very healthy 4u and easy on the tummy and the warm milk makes u sleepy. My dad called it milk eggs toast. We buttered the toast and poached the egg so the yolk was still runny. Then we broke the yolk on the toast and spread ut around. He said he thought it was from the danish part of the family. He passed almost 3yrs ago. I never heard of anyone else making it either. So glad I found your blog.
Sonija
Update on possible origin ffom Sonija. ?.hi I found a site that give a detail at the end of the recipe. This one is made with the buttered toast I mentioned. Hope this helps
Feeling sick this morning and made poached eggs in milk like my mom used to...i don't know anyone else who ate eggs like this but our family...already feeling better !!
ocesMy grandma was from Germany & mom always called eggs poached in milk Eggs Vienna! We would have these for breakfast every couple of weeks. We had them on dark toast with a little paprika sprinkled on the top. Yummy!! They are a little messy if the milk boils over, but we let the milk come to the top of the pan and lifted the pan off the burner to slow the boiling. We did that 3 or 4 times & they were perfect!
I'm 60 years old and my dad cooked these poached eggs for us all the time. I have searched for the recipe and couldn't believe I found this one. The only difference in ours was that we put water in the skillet. Added the eggs after the water came to boil, then added butter and canned milk then poured over toast. I'll have to try it with whole milk. I still cook this and will always enjoy it. My wife and my friends have never heard of this type of poached egg and think I'm crazy when I talk about it. I'll print this page and prove I'm not crazy or imagining this type of poached egg. lol
My mother also made me this. It was my favorite warm winter breakfast. At times, she also used sugar and cinnamon for a change. That was so yummy. She past away this February. I wished I would have asked her who used to make it for her.
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