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] The process is either done in a regular pan or pot, or through the use of a special device such as an "egg coddler" (originally known as a pipkin).[4]
The word coddle evolved from the name of a warm drink, "caudle", and ultimately deriving from the Latin word for warm drink, calidium.[5]
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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.[6]
