Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

It does what it's supposed to do. What you need to know is, there are lots of variables involved in getting the boiled egg you like. It's a matter of trial and error until you figure it out. -- size of egg matters; the bigger the egg, the more water & time it's going to need (more than it says) -- temperature of egg matters; whether it's lukewarm from the hen-house or just out of a cold fridge -- your personal take on what "soft," "medium," and "hard" is supposed to be like I started off with an Extra Large "Country Hen" brand egg (just one egg) and filled the little cup to exactly the "medium" mark. I did not puncture the egg. It steamed for around 4 minutes and the music came on. I turned off the music and let it sit in the unit another 30 seconds, then transferred it to a bowl of cold water for one minute, then started peeling it. I got most of the peel off one-third of the egg and was having trouble getting the peel off. Then I realized the egg was really, really squishy and not cooked. So, I deposited the partly peeled egg back in the unit and filled the cup to the "soft" setting this time. At the end of 2 minutes the music went off and I could see that the white of the egg looked a little firmer, so I removed the egg (with a potholder) and tried peeling it again; it was still kind of squishy. I repeated this last process one more time, filling the cup to "soft" and then was able to peel the egg; still a little difficult to peel but I was finally able to slide a spoon under the egg's membrane and got it loose. The photo is what it looked like after I placed the egg on toast and chopped it up. All I can say is it's an egg, and it came out the way I intended it, but I need to figure out the water measurement better next time so I didn't have to go through all that rigamarole. I provide this description of what I did for others who find that their egg is not quite cooked enough; you can stick it back in the unit and cook it some more! It works. As for the unit itself, there are a lot of things I really like about it: -- The overall shape is pleasantly round, and not bulbous or squarish like some of them. It's more organic looking with roundy legs and not stick-like legs. -- The cord is white, not black like some other brands, and blends in better with my kitchen counter. It's not super long, but it's long enough. -- I got the yellow one and I'm really pleased with the color; it's the same soft color as a cooked egg yolk, and not glaringly yellow. -- The top part of the unit can be secured onto the bottom part by turning the top so that it "locks" with the bottom part; the instructions say not to do that, though, while it's cooking. But this makes it easier to lift the unit together with its top and parts inside it, instead of having separate pieces that can fall off. Some of the other brands don't have this feature. -- The unit only cooks 6 eggs at a time, not 7 like most, but that's fine with me because I only need to cook eggs for one or two people. -- The fact that it only does 6 eggs means that the center of the egg holder is free for a little spindle that can be placed there before cooking so you can lift the entire egg tray up and move it to cold water. Other brands don't have that. -- The alarm is pleasantly musical and not too loud, unlike some other brands with a loud buzzer that knocks you off your feet. Cons: -- The measuring cup is not marked with ink, just raised indicators same color as the clear plastic. You have to hold it up to the light to see how much you're putting in there. I may order a better measuring cup for teaspoons, tablespoons, and ounces. Anyhow, I think I've gotten the best egg cooker available. The price is right, the unit is cute, it works, even if you flub up and have to keep putting the egg back in there, even partially peeled, it will still cook you an egg. And mine came out just fine even with all that fuss. I plan on getting better at it. I will report back if I come up with more tips. Update after 5 uses: I decided to punch a hole in the end of the egg, and this does seem to make it just a little easier to peel. I'm using Extra Large eggs, and it definitely takes a lot more water (= longer time). I've filled the cup to the "Hard" level, as well as a little above that, and the egg comes out more like soft/medium-boiled (but not runny). I don't leave it in the machine; I take it right out and lower it into a bowl of water with ice cubes for a minute. Every morning I can look forward to an egg now, without the hassle of getting out pots and pans and trying to guess how long the egg is going to take or winding up with a harder or softer egg.