Poaching may have fallen out of favour over the past few years, due in part to the popularity of its vacuum-sealed, temperature-controlled cousin — sous vide. But unlike sous vide, poaching does not require fancy equipment, just a pot filled with liquid and a bit of time. And the beauty of poaching is that everyone is invited to the party — white meat, red meat, fish, vegetables, eggs and fruit can slowly simmer in a bath of warm liquid.

Poaching is a great cooking skill to have and it’s relatively stress-free. It gently cooks foods while imparting subtle flavours without drying out proteins and other ingredients.

If you want to dress it up, a court bouillon is a poaching liquid flavoured with aromatics, such as lemon, wine, herbs, peppercorns and bay leaves. This liquid can also be strained after cooking to make a sauce. A simple syrup for sweet poaching or an oil, butter or fat — think duck confit and butter-poached lobster — can gently cook and richly flavour foods.

Once you’ve selected your poaching medium, the rest is fairly simple. You can poach in a pot on the stove top, baking dish in the oven or even a slow cooker. The key is keeping the temperature low: 180 F for water-based poaching, but poaching in fat can take more heat. You can adjust the temperature by 20 degrees more or less, but be wary of simmering territory. When bubbles start to rise, the food can cook too quickly, so lower the heat when this happens.