Rose's April Shop Watch: Egg Shape Timer

Kitchen Timer

Amazon, The Big Kitchen Company

What?
Egg Shape Timer

Why?
It is all in the timing

Time is critical in cooking. This is especially true in baking when it can make the difference to a beautifully risen golden sponge and a sunken sodden mess or a burnt crisp. I also find accurate timing key to a successful Sunday lunch – when does the meat go in? Then when do the potatoes go in so they come out golden and crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside? Even more important if you only have one oven, when does the beef come out for the Yorkshire pudding to go in, because there is only one rule here – NEVER open the oven door while the Yorkshire is cooking. It may sound nerdy but I jot down the times in advance and I use a timer.

Timers are incredibly useful in the kitchen. The original timer was hourglass shaped and the grains of sand told you when your boiled egg was cooked. I still like the idea of them and you can still buy them (Amazon Chef Aid Traditional Wooden Egg Timer £4.80). But that is for eggs only. Now you can use any number of devices for timing from your smart phone, to a whole array of digital timers (some of which I had to refer to the instruction manual before succeeding in setting them). And of course, you can use your oven timer although I find that this is so complicated the oven turns on in the middle of the night (for me changing the clock time without triggering the timer is a challenge).

As you can tell I have tested them all and I just come back to one – the simple mechanical egg-shaped timer. You turn it, you wait for the bell to ring. No batteries, no instruction manuals, no fuss. The only drawback I can see is that you can only time up to 55 minutes but then not much critical timing goes beyond that – casseroles can just be left to themselves.

The design is iconic and looks good on any worktop. I love the fact that the shape is a playful reminder of the original timer. And they now come in a plethora of colours to match your kitchen or your mood: the original chrome; black; white; red; purple; green; pink; blue; grey; pewter; orange; pale turquoise. I have a black and white kitchen so naturally have bought one in black and one in white. I am pointing you to the website, The Big Kitchen, which I have found has the biggest range of bright colours. But I bought my black and white ones on Amazon. You can buy much more expensive chrome ones (over £30) which just seem to me to do the same job. Buy the simple ones - in one or two or three colours.

Conclusion:
Perfect timing

Product Details:
60 Minute Egg Shaped Timer -
blue, green, purple, red all at £6
thebigkitchen.co.uk

Chef Aid Black Egg Shape Mechanical Kitchen Timer: £5.49
amazon.co.uk
Soft Touch Pastel White Egg Shape Timer: £9.09
amazon.co.uk

Price and availability as at 31st March 2023

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