Siemens Electric Egg Boiler

...appliance of all time, the Siemens Electric Egg Boiler.
I was mildly intrigued as I had never before encountered such an appliance.

I studied it carefully inside the shop. It was oblong in shape with a shallow heavy plastic base into which fitted a tray designed to hold six eggs. Just like a cardboard egg tray really.On top of this was a clear plastic dome with a hole in the top.On the side of the base there was a simple switch ...
...I believe have taken over Siemens because when I replaced my Siemens tabletop dishwasher, the replacement looked exactly the same but is made by Bosch. It cost £16.00,(a bit more than my original 50p but hey thats inflation for you.)it's a little smaller and more compact being rounded now instead of oblong, and it has a metal inside which is easier to clean. Apart from this, it's exactly the same.

So, now you know where you can purchase ... more

I've been boiling eggs for longer than most of you under the age of 40 have had hot dinners, but I could never guarantee that when I wanted them soft, they wouldn't end up with disgustingly runny white, so I usually boiled them hard to be on the safe side. I tried everything. You know the sort of thing-

"put your eggs in a pan and cover with boiling water then bring to the boil and count exactly 3 minutes" or

"plunge your eggs into already boiling water and leave for 5 mins" or

"bring your eggs to the boil then take them off the heat, cover and leave for 10 mins"

I bought egg timers by the dozen from the simplest little sand traps to a sophisticated electronic timer with a loud buzzer, but couldn't do it.
I always said that it was because eggs are never the same size, so when you've figured out the exact time, to the second, for one egg, the next egg may be just that bit larger or smaller. It may even be the degree of freshness........The reasons, ok excuses, were endless. Then............

One day I was walking down a street in my local town and I passed a charity shop. There, in the window, sitting proudly on top of it's cardboard box, was what was to become my favourite kitchen appliance of all time, the Siemens Electric Egg Boiler.
I was mildly intrigued as I had never before encountered such an appliance.

I studied it carefully inside the shop. It was oblong in shape with a shallow heavy plastic base into which fitted a tray designed to hold six eggs. Just like a cardboard egg tray really.On top of this was a clear plastic dome with a hole in the top.On the side of the base there was a simple switch with three positions, off, on and warm,(for keeping the cooked eggs warm.)It was difficult to see the flex at first because it was wound around and inside the base, out of sight apart from the plug.

There was a cylindrical plastic tube a bit like the containers we used in science at school, with a pouring lip and a spike under the base. This was marked in German and English with various levels depending on how many eggs you were cooking and whether you wanted them hard, medium or soft.There was even an instruction book which told you to use the sharp spike under the tube to pierce each egg, then to fill the tube to the desired level according to the number of eggs to be cooked and how hard or soft you wanted them. Then the water was poured into the base unit, the dome was placed over it and the unit switched on.

How much were they asking for this wondrous piece of equipment?
The assistant informed me that, as they could not guarantee that it was in working order, I could have it for 50p! I grabbed it and rushed home to try it out.

This happened more than five years ago and I never use anything else now to boil eggs. It always cooks them to a perfect consistency, provided that you use the correct amount of water, as marked. The water doesn't touch the eggs but rather boils away in the base and steams them, escaping through the hole in the top of the dome. When all the water has gone, a loud buzzer sounds and all you have to do is switch off the unit, take off the dome, lift off the tray of eggs and run them under cold water to stop them cooking.

It has always worked perfectly and quickly-it takes 9 minutes to cook two soft boiled eggs(there is room for six) and cleaning the appliance is easy as you just wipe the base out and wash the tray and dome, which both go in my dishwasher. The base obviously doesn't as this contains the electrics.

It is the best, cheapest to buy and run, and most useful appliance in my kitchen and I have never seen one of these in any of the local shops so I do not know where it can be purchased, or even if it can, in this country, apart from in a charity shop.

Keep your eyes peeled, and if you come across this little beauty, snap it up!

The worst thing happened.......my ever lovin' Sam dropped my wonderful egg boiler and the plastic cover broke. As I hadn't seen such a machine as this anywhere I was devastated! Then he redeemed himself by spotting a similar thing in the Empire mail order catalogue. I sent for it and would you believe it, it's almost exactly the same thing!

It's a Bosch which I believe have taken over Siemens because when I replaced my Siemens tabletop dishwasher, the replacement looked exactly the same but is made by Bosch. It cost £16.00,(a bit more than my original 50p but hey thats inflation for you.)it's a little smaller and more compact being rounded now instead of oblong, and it has a metal inside which is easier to clean. Apart from this, it's exactly the same.

So, now you know where you can purchase an electric egg boiler....rush out and buy one today.You won't be sorry. 

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