PEOPLE use many various techniques to make a perfect poached egg.

Some add a dash of vinegar, others swirl the water and some people resort to using those specially designed plastic bags.

It's tricky stuff to make the perfect looking one but British cookery writer, Elizabeth David, said she always used a technique which was in a cookery book by Buckinghamshire WI.

Food writer, Prue Leith, chose her method of cooking poached eggs as one of her favourite recipes by Elizabeth.

The extract from French Country cooking said: "My own method for poaching eggs I learnt from a cookery book published by the Buckinghamshire Women's Institute, and it has proved infallible."

She recommends boiling a saucepan of water, and into this dip each egg whole, in it shells, and count to 30 before taking it out.

Then have a pan of fresh water boiling, add a dessert spoon of vinegar, stir the water fast until a whirlpool has formed and break into this the eggs, and cook for one to one and a half minutes.

Archivist for the Buckinghamshire Federation of Women's Institutes, Sue Norton, said the only recipe she could find in relation to this was in The Buckinghamshire Federation of Women's Institutes Cookery Book, second edition published in 1948.

This read: "Before breaking immerse in boiling water for a minute, then poach. You will find it will set beautifully and be a perfect shape."

Sue said there are many recipes in the book including one for snail cream, which recommends gathering snails, soaking them overnight and boiling them in milk.