Fill a heavy, deep-sided 12-inch skillet 2⁄3 full of water. Add 1⁄4 cup of plain white distilled vinegar. Bring the water to a bare simmer.

Break the eggs, one at a time, into a small bowl; then slide them into the barely simmering water. Add up to 6 eggs to the water at a time.

Cook the eggs for 3 minutes for a nice, soft yolk, or longer if you wish to set the yolks to a firmer texture. Remove the eggs from the pan carefully, using a slotted spoon and taking care not to break the yolks. Gently blot off excess water before using the eggs. Let the water return to the gentle simmer before poaching additional eggs.

A restaurant trick that can save time when poaching eggs for a crowd is to poach all of the eggs that you will need, using the method above, but poach them for only 2 minutes. Carefully remove them with a slotted spoon and float them in a large bowl filled with ice water. Set the iced eggs aside, finishing them at the last minute by returning the eggs to the simmering water and poaching for 1 additional minute, or longer, as desired.

The eggs can be held for an hour or two in the ice-water bath, as long as you keep replenishing the melting ice. Remove the eggs from the final minute’s poaching, blot dry, and use as desired. If you really want your poached eggs to be very uniform in size and shape, cut off any unruly edges using a sharp 3-inch biscuit cutter.