KRUPS: Simply Electric Plastic and Stainless Steel Egg Cooker 6 Eggs 400 Watts Hard, Medium, and Soft Boiled, Poached, Scrambled, Omelets, Rapid Cook Black

I sat on the idea of buying a dedicated egg cooker for a few months before pulling the trigger. At a mere $30 it wouldn't be much of a loss even on my small income even if the device did not work as well as the reviews claimed.Well let me be one to say: This thing is amazing.Preface: I have only used this to make HARD COOKED EGGS and that isn't going to change any time soon.Let's start with the device. It's pretty small. Smaller than I expected actually. I use large eggs and they fit no problem but jumbo sized ones might not. Come to think of it, I don't know if other sized eggs will cook differently, but I always use large and they always come out perfect.The main device is three different pieces. The heating element on the bottom, the plastic piece in the middle that holds up the eggs over the heating element, and the lid. The egg cooker works by boiling water and steaming the eggs to cook them.Along with that there is a small tube that it comes with. This tube is what you use to measure out the water needed to cook the eggs (the number of eggs changes the amount of water you use) and it is also what you use to pierce the eggs. On the bottom of this is a small pinpoint that you must pierce each egg with. The instructions say to pierce the pointier side of the egg, but reviews say to use the fatter, rounder bottom of the egg instead, which is what I have always done.The cooker itself has two settings. To the right you cook, and to the left you hold. I've never used the "to hold" setting because I always run my eggs under cold water when they are done. When set to cook, the rightward setting, the device buzzes very loudly to let you know they are done once it senses the water has run out.Once my eggs are done I remove the lid, grab the cooker by the handle and a bit of the other side (the eggs are insanely hot, but the plastic is bearable to touch) and run some cold water over them all for a couple of minutes. The eggs will still be pretty toasty but I just toss them in the fridge or eat them right then and there.Cleaning it up is quick and easy. The heating element will usually be a bit dirty for one reason or another but I've never had to do more than take a sponge to it one or two wipes and call it done. Rinse out the plastic that holds the eggs and the lid and let it all dry piece by piece. Everything still looks clean and works great.Now the actual eggs.NEW EGGS OR OLD EGGS, either way, they PEEL GREAT. It's well known that you use older eggs to boil because they peel better but with this little thing there has just been no need so far. The eggs peel great if I'm eating them while they're still warm or if they've been sitting around for a few days.And just to top it all off (and the most important part of all): They are cooked perfectly. Every single time. Just make sure you cool the eggs enough when they are done cooking so they don't KEEP cooking in their own heat.Now for the issues/downsides, which do not take away from the product at all:1) I have had... maybe 2 "weak" egg shells that have not "pierced" properly and instead just crumbled. I felt it coming either way.2) I have had one, single egg not peel well out of many. It happens, but it's very, very rare.3) The device buzzes loudly when done, but does NOT turn off. You need to be there to tend to the eggs to stop them from overcooking.

I was initially hesitant to buy this special-purpose appliance, since I have been boiling eggs in a pot for decades without any issues (I thought). However, my experience with a rice cooker--another specialized appliance--convinced me that they can be very useful things. After losing yet another egg that cracked open in a pot of boiling water, I decided to give egg cookers a try.First, let me outline the problems that I experienced with boiling eggs in a pot, over the years:- You have to keep an eye on the heat. If the water starts boiling too rapidly, the eggs start to bounce around and can crack- A good deal of water is required in order to boil a half dozen eggs- Since I almost always made hard-boiled eggs, I always had to look up how long to boil for soft-boiled or medium-boiled eggs, simply because I would forget the timingNow, here are the Pros of egg cookers in general, to counter those points:- The heating level is preprogrammed in the cooker. You need not watch it at all. EDIT: THERE IS NO AUTO-SHUTOFF.- There is very little water in it at all. The eggs don't move at all; they are essentially steam-cooked, and come out perfect every time.- Little water is needed, and it's the same amount every time.- The amount of water that you use is what makes an egg soft boiled or hard boiled, not the heating level. When all the water is boiled away, the steaming of the eggs (and hence their cooking) stops.Here are the Pros of this particular egg cooker:- There's an included measuring cup, with a small needle on the base for pricking the big end of the egg (in order to release internal pressure)- Markings are set for 1 to 7 eggs either soft, medium, or hardboilded. The markings show where to fill the cup with water, for your selection.- The appliance itself is small, so it stores away easily- Cleanup is a breeze: just let it cool down, then wipe the heating plate clean.- Construction of the appliance seems to be very good. Like most things these days, it's got a lot of plastic, but it doesn't feel flimsy or cheap.A couple of Cons of this cooker:- The markings on the measuring cup are clear, raised plastic. They can be hard to read/see. You could probably use nail polish or something to highlight them, but I wish that Krup had taken just a little more effort and marked them clearly themselves.- The "done" sound is a garish screech. I could see this waking someone up if they were sleeping nearby.