I occasionally enjoy soft- to medium- boiled eggs. But if it’s a struggle to remove the shells and I find myself standing over a trash can picking off tiny pieces — while getting stabbed intermittently by a sharp edge — I’d rather eat something else.

Enter As Seen On TV’s Egglettes, tiny orb-shaped containers created to eliminate the hassle of egg peeling.

HOW IT WORKS

Fill a pot with about 4 inches of water and bring to a rolling boil. Each Egglette is a transluscent little plastic cup with a red cap. While waiting for the water to boil, grease the inside of each cup with oil — this is important to make it easy to remove the egg later (and you still might have to run a knife around the edges of the egg to loosen it). Crack an egg into each cup, season it if desired, then twist on the caps.

Grab each Egglette by its handle and gently place it into the boiling water. The Egglettes are pretty cute bouncing around the pot. The instructions list cooking times for different levels of doneness, one list for electric stoves and another for gas. Use tongs to lift the Egglettes into an ice bath to stop the cooking process.

DOES IT WORK?

Yep, although it takes longer than boiling the usual way. On my first try I boiled four Egglettes and four eggs still in their shells in the same pot. After 13 minutes of cooking, followed by cooling in an ice bath, I popped out a couple of Egglettes eggs and peeled a couple of the whole eggs. The Egglettes were perfectly medium (my aim), while the whole eggs were hard-boiled.

Next I tried using the Egglettes without oil. Why add more fat if it isn’t needed? The egg stuck to the container, which is not a problem if you eat it out of the Egglette, which made it easy for me to enjoy the egg with shoyu. (Usually I’d eat an egg with shoyu while standing at the sink, struggling to just get a couple of drops onto the egg per bite, inevitably dripping the salty liquid everywhere.)

I also tried skipping the ice bath, so I wouldn’t have to waste ice every time I boiled an egg. I took the Egglettes out early to cool on the counter. For a medium-boiled egg, I followed the soft-boiled cooking time. Compared to my original medium egg, the yolk was softer; it wasn’t runny but some of the egg white was still gelatinous. I enjoy soft-boiled eggs, too, so the under-cooked white didn’t bother me.

PROS

Easy to use. If oiled it’s easy to clean, but an unoiled Egglette takes some scrubbing. A cooked egg can be stored in an Egglette for up to two days, so it’s great to grab for a quick snack. Don’t have to worry about the shells cracking while boiling. Compact. The instruction book has a few recipes.

CONS

Takes longer to cook than eggs in the shells. There’s a tiny hole in the cover of the Egglette (I assume to let steam escape), so condensation or liquid seasonings can drip out if you’re storing them to eat later. You’re supposed to be able to scramble eggs and add meat or veggies in an Egglette, but for me that was a big failure.

The first time I tried it, the cheese I added sank to the bottom of the cup, throwing the container off balance and it ended up floating on its side.

The second time I tried it the Egglette stayed upright, but after the suggested 15 minutes of cooking time, the egg was rubbery.

COST AND AVAILABILITY

I got a four pack for $9.99 at Target in Salt Lake (other Target locations also carry them). At getegglettes.com, a six-pack is $14.99 (plus shipping), but if you buy three packs you get three free, plus a microwave egg sandwich cooker. A $10 surcharge applies to Hawaii residents, bringing the total to $59 for 36 Egglettes.

That’s a lot of Egglettes, but gather a few friends to split the cost and it breaks down to about $1.64 per Egglette (compared with $2.50 at Target).

Bed, Bath & Beyond also sells the four pack, but call ahead as the stores do sell out.

WORTH IT?

I like them.

Got a gadget that you love? Curious about one you’d like us to test? Email crave@staradvertiser.com or write Crave, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813.