Do not bring eggs to room temperature before cooking. Leave them refrigerated until you are ready to crack, strain and cook.

Crack one egg at a time into a mesh strainer or sieve over a bowl. Any loose egg white will leak out through the strainer into the bowl and not be used. Pour the firm white with yolk into another an individual bowl and keep chilled. Repeat for all eggs to be cooked.

Bring a large saucepan three-quarters full of water to a boil and add two tablespoons of white vinegar. Lower to a low heat capable of producing small bubbles beading up on the pan bottom.

Use a whisk and whisk the hot water in a circle to form a rotating vortex. Gently add one single egg to the center of the vortex and cook exactly three minutes. The vortex will help the white keep its round shape by forcing it to the center. Use a slotted spoon to remove the cooked egg after three minutes. Set the end of the slotted spoon onto a paper towel to drain excess water and slide the egg onto a plate or into a bowl. Repeat for as many eggs as you are cooking.

Note: You can cook several eggs at once without swirling the water first, but they will spread out flat and not be compact and round. If the shape doesn’t matter to you, you can speed things up by cooking them all at once. Be advised though that adding all of the eggs at once will lower the water temperature so you may need to raise the heat a bit. Also, they may take longer than three minutes. Use the slotted spoon to lift one at a time from the water and touch the cooked white to test for doneness. If it does not feel firm, place back in the water and cook longer.

If you cooked each one individually and are serving the eggs immediately, slide them all gently back into the hot water to heat back up for 30 seconds, then again remove with a slotted spoon, dry and serve.

If serving later, cool in ice water as you cook, drain then cover and refrigerate until needed. Dip into the hot water to heat when ready to serve.