In cooking, to coddle food is to heat it in water kept just below the boiling point.[1] In the past, recipes called for coddling fruit,[2] but in recent times the term is usually only applied to coddled eggs.[3] Coddling differs from poaching in that the coddled ingredient is not placed directly in hot water, but instead in a small dish placed in a hot water bath. [4] The process is either done in a regular pan or pot filled with water, either on the stovetop or placed in the oven,[4] or through the use of a special device such as an "egg coddler" (originally known as a pipkin).[5] The oven technique is similar to the preparation of baked eggs, the difference being that the preparation of baked eggs does not have to employ a water bath.[4]
The word coddle evolved from the name of a warm drink, "caudle", and ultimately deriving from the Latin word for warm drink, calidium.[6]
Comparing the coddling cooking technique to boiling when it comes to whole eggs, the process of coddling takes a longer time due to the use of a lower cooking temperature, but it produces a more tender egg.[7]