DictionarycoddleGentle cooking
verb

coddle

Cook gently in water below boiling.

The cook coddled the eggs in hot water.

Etymology

The gentle cooking sense is older than the pampering sense. They share a word family whose deeper origin is uncertain.

More examples

  • She lowered the covered cup into water to coddle the egg gently.
  • Coddle the eggs rather than boiling them rapidly.
  • The recipe calls for coddling the egg in its small dish.

Forms

coddle · coddles · coddled · coddling

Similar words

poach
Poach cooks gently in liquid; coddle is especially used for gently cooking eggs.
simmer
Simmer keeps liquid just below boiling; coddle names the gentle treatment of the food itself.