How many different ways can you cook eggs?

From: [email protected]
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 14:32:22 GMT
On 11 Apr 1997 05:12:07 GMT, [email protected] (No spam please)
wrote:
>I have been wondering about this for a while.  Not being a native speaker,
>I usually get stumped on simple things that one can't look up on a
>dictionary, one of which is how to respond to the question "How would you
>like your eggs?" when ordering breakfast.  So can anybody help me with
>this?  How many different ways can you order your eggs?
>
>Thanks
>Stephen
The obvious answer is "Cooked," but many busy servers in restaurants
have no sense of humor.
A few choices: scrambled, poached, basted, sunny side up, over easy,
or my husband's favorite--"Over hard, break the yolk, and cook them to
death."
Carol from Mpls.
 - - - - -
From: Timothy Hunt 
Date: 11 Apr 1997 16:06:46 +0100
In article <[email protected]>,   wrote:
>
>A few choices: scrambled, poached, basted, sunny side up, over easy,
>or my husband's favorite--"Over hard, break the yolk, and cook them to
>death."
what do you mean by "basted" and by "over easy"?
other choices are fried, hardboiled, softboiled.
Timothy
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From: [email protected] (Brian J Goggin)
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 15:26:47 GMT
On 11 Apr 1997 16:06:46 +0100, Timothy Hunt
 wrote:
>In article <[email protected]>,   wrote:
>>
>>A few choices: scrambled, poached, basted, sunny side up, over easy,
>>or my husband's favorite--"Over hard, break the yolk, and cook them to
>>death."
>
>what do you mean by "basted" and by "over easy"?
>
>other choices are fried, hardboiled, softboiled.
>
Benedict, coddled, microwaved, baked (including baked-in-a-roll), en
cocotte ... and in a prairie oyster.
bjg
 - - - - -
From: "Duncan McKenzie" 
Date: 11 Apr 1997 23:56:28 GMT
Timothy Hunt  wrote in article 
> >A few choices: scrambled, poached, basted, sunny side up, over easy,
> >or my husband's favorite--"Over hard, break the yolk, and cook them to
> >death."
> 
> what do you mean by "basted" and by "over easy"?
I don't know basted either, but "over easy" is basically a fried egg that
has been flipped over (gently, so as not to break the yolk) when it is
mostly cooked. When it's served, it's white on both sides, but the yolk is
usually runny. It's a good way of avoiding that icky gelatinous stuff you
sometimes get on a "sunny side up" egg. 
There's also "over rough" where you wait till the egg is almost cooked, try
to flip it, find that it's stuck to the pan, and rip the yolk in half. You
dig away at the rest and scrape it off the pan, assembling the whole in a
small, eggy lump. It should be served with the black bits uppermost, with a
side of bread torn by frozen butter. 
Then there's "over kill" -- you crack open the egg, but the yolk breaks.
The yellow innards spill out over the pan. Just like back in 'Nam. You were
talking with that young lieutenant when the sniper's bullet struck. His
brains were splattered all over the side of that M60 tank, and all you
could hear was the crickets chirping, and the sizzle of frying meat. You
press your hand against the surface of the frying pan. The pain cauterizes
the memories. 
"Basted"? When you've looked death in the eye, you don't give a damn about
"basted".
Duncan McKenzie
Toronto, Canada
Ten thousand miles and a lifetime from 'Nam. 
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From: [email protected] (Donna Richoux)
Date: 12 Apr 1997 12:24:23 GMT
Duncan McKenzie  wrote:
> Timothy Hunt  wrote in article 
> 
> > >A few choices: scrambled, poached, basted, sunny side up, over easy,
> > >or my husband's favorite--"Over hard, break the yolk, and cook them to
> > >death."
> > 
> > what do you mean by "basted" and by "over easy"?
> 
> I don't know basted either
[snip, including very funny Vietnam bit]
I know "basted" -- that's the way my family used to fry eggs, although
we just called them "fried eggs." You start with a considerable amount
of (usually bacon) grease in the pan. Break the egg into it. With a
spatula, lightly and repeatedly push grease over the top of the egg --
flapflapflapflapflap. Come at it from different directions. This cooks
the top of the egg without need for flipping it over. My impression is a
lot of restaurants can't do "basted~ because they fry eggs on a flat
grill.
Best wishes --- Donna Richoux
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From: Truly Donovan 
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 1997 13:41:30 -0600
Duncan McKenzie wrote:
> 
> Timothy Hunt  wrote in article
> 
> > >A few choices: scrambled, poached, basted, sunny side up, over easy,
> > >or my husband's favorite--"Over hard, break the yolk, and cook them to
> > >death."
> >
> > what do you mean by "basted" and by "over easy"?
> 
> I don't know basted either, but "over easy" is basically a fried egg that
> has been flipped over (gently, so as not to break the yolk) when it is
> mostly cooked. When it's served, it's white on both sides, but the yolk is
> usually runny. It's a good way of avoiding that icky gelatinous stuff you
> sometimes get on a "sunny side up" egg.
"Basted" is essentially a sunny-side-up where the cook has stood attentively 
by and spooned the hot fat over the topside as an alternative method of 
avoiding that icky gelatinous stuff. The yolk achieves a milky coating.
However, the question was about ordering eggs, and while I suppose there are 
places where you can get them basted, in most breakfast joints, you'd wind up 
with an over easy turned backside up if you were to ask for "basted." Most 
eggs are fried on a flat surface, where there is no source of hot fat to baste 
with.
-- 
Truly Donovan
"Industrial-strength SGML," Prentice Hall 1996
ISBN 0-13-216243-1
http://www.prenhall.com
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From: Jon Robert Crofoot 
Date: 13 Apr 1997 03:12:45 GMT
Truly Donovan  wrote:
>Duncan McKenzie wrote:
>> 
>> Timothy Hunt  wrote in article
>> 
>> > >A few choices: scrambled, poached, basted, sunny side up, over easy,
>> > >or my husband's favorite--"Over hard, break the yolk, and cook them to
>> > >death."
>> >
>> > what do you mean by "basted" and by "over easy"?
>> 
>> I don't know basted either, but "over easy" is basically a fried egg that
>> has been flipped over (gently, so as not to break the yolk) when it is
>> mostly cooked. When it's served, it's white on both sides, but the yolk is
>> usually runny. It's a good way of avoiding that icky gelatinous stuff you
>> sometimes get on a "sunny side up" egg.
>
>"Basted" is essentially a sunny-side-up where the cook has stood attentively 
>by and spooned the hot fat over the topside as an alternative method of 
>avoiding that icky gelatinous stuff. The yolk achieves a milky coating.
>
>However, the question was about ordering eggs, and while I suppose there are 
>places where you can get them basted, in most breakfast joints, you'd wind up 
>with an over easy turned backside up if you were to ask for "basted." Most 
>eggs are fried on a flat surface, where there is no source of hot fat to baste 
>with.
>
Try it "cowboy style" (the only name I know it by; sorry): 
Put a couple of spoonfuls of water in a frying pan lid and 
clop the lid over the frying eggs.  The water boils and the 
steam cooks the top surface of the eggs.  The result is 
much like basted eggs.
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From: [email protected] (Jesse the K)
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 14:32:24 -0500
Organization: OK Ideas
Lines: 27
Message-ID: 
from a native NAmerican, with Boston/Philadelphia origins:
Scrambled -- eggs broken into bowl, stirred for a little while with a fork,
then cooked in a pan
Sunny side up -- eggs broken right into the pan, cooked until the yolks
have begun to set
Over easy -- eggs broken right into the pan, cooked a little while then
gently turned and cooked a very little while
Over hard -- fried like crazy on both sides
        and best of all ....
matzah brei -- matzah crumbled and soaked in beaten eggs for at least an
hour, then fried and served with jam or sugar.
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
(No spam please) wrote:
> I have been wondering about this for a while.  Not being a native speaker,
> I usually get stumped on simple things that one can't look up on a
> dictionary, one of which is how to respond to the question "How would you
> like your eggs?" when ordering breakfast.  So can anybody help me with
> this?  How many different ways can you order your eggs?
> 
> Thanks
> Stephen
-- 
Jesse the K --  -- Madison Wisconsin USA
   It's hard to predict the future when they keep changing the past.
From [email protected] Fri Apr 11 14:28:17 1997
From: [email protected] (alan auerbach F)
A guy from Russia ate in an American restaurant three times a day.
All he could say in English was "ham and eggs."  Finally he learned
a new phrase: GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH.  He ordered one.  The server
asked, "On white or brown?"  He sighed and replied, "Ham and eggs."
Eggs can be cooked as boiled, scrambled, fried, or poached.
They can be well done or not.  Fried can be "over easy."
--
Al.
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From: Truly Donovan 
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 15:36:55 -0600
No spam please wrote:
> 
> I have been wondering about this for a while.  Not being a native speaker,
> I usually get stumped on simple things that one can't look up on a
> dictionary, one of which is how to respond to the question "How would you
> like your eggs?" when ordering breakfast.  So can anybody help me with
> this?  How many different ways can you order your eggs?
poached
hard-boiled
soft-boiled
scrambled soft
scrambled hard
over easy
over hard
sunny-side-up
Gotta go -- this is making me hungry.
-- 
Truly Donovan
"Industrial-strength SGML," Prentice Hall 1996
ISBN 0-13-216243-1
http://www.prenhall.com
 - - - - -
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 15:41:50 -0600
From: Anandashankar Mazumdar 
Stephen  (No spam please) wrote:
>I have been wondering about this for a while.  Not being a native speaker,
>I usually get stumped on simple things that one can't look up on a
>dictionary, one of which is how to respond to the question "How would you
>like your eggs?" when ordering breakfast.  So can anybody help me with
>this?  How many different ways can you order your eggs?
I. Scrambled -- This is the most common method in American restaurants.
Yolks and whites are whipped and the combination is fried, occasionally
stirred around with a spatula. The result is a lumpy substance. The best
scrambled eggs are whipped well and they come out a bit fluffy and
spongy. Sometimes milk, ham, onions, chilies or other spices can be
added, but most restaurants will serve them plain.
II. Fried "sunny side up" (in some countries, this is called "poached")
-- Eggs are broken into a frying pan and not disturbed. The result is a
thin, white, rubbery disk with a bright yellow mound in the middle. You
can order it so that the yolk is still "runny" or you can ask that it be
fried until the edges of the white are brown and crispy. Some state laws
require that the egg be cooked until the yolk is completely un-runny
(this is no fun).
III. Fried "over easy" -- Just like above except that the egg is flipped
over once during cooking. The result is that the yolk is hidden
underneath the white. This method usually results in more even cooking of
the egg, but the "easy" designates that the yolk should still be runny.
IV. Omelet/Omelette -- The egg is whipped and poured evenly into the
frying pan so that it forms an even, pancake-like or crepe-like thin,
wide disk. "Stuffings" are placed in the middle (onions, cheese, ham,
bacon, green peppers, tomatoes, chilis, spinach, spices, whatever) and
the ends are folded inwards so that a pocket shape is formed.
V. Boiled/Hard Boiled/Full Boiled -- The egg is not broken. It is cooked
in boiling water until hard. The shell can be pulled off quite easily,
leaving a firm, egg-shaped white and yolk with no runny parts. This is
very popular among travellers, because it is compact and not messy.
VI. Soft Boiled/Half Boiled -- Same as above except that it is cooked
only a little bit (two or three minutes). The white and yolk remain very
runny. You have to eat it with a spoon. This is a favorite among children
(and me). You dip pieces of toast into it.
VII. Poached -- This is the fanciest kind of breakfast or brunch egg and
will usually only be offered in more expensive restaurants and combines
the best features of a fried egg and a soft-boiled egg. The egg is
cracked into water that is already boiling. The proper technique keeps
the whole egg together (no egg soup, please) and the white is cooked
until firm but the yolk remains runny.
  A. Eggs benedict -- The poached egg is placed on some kind of bread
(French brioche or English muffin is the best) and the whole thing is
covered in Hollandaise sauce. Sometimes there is a slice of meat (e.g.,
Canadian bacon or smoked salmon) between the egg and the bread.
    B. Eggs florentine -- Same as above only with spinach.
Good eating!
Ananda
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From: [email protected] (Judith Puddy)
Date: 12 Apr 1997 00:33:39 GMT
Anandashankar Mazumdar ([email protected]) writes:
> 
> I. Scrambled -- This is the most common method in American restaurants.
> Yolks and whites are whipped and the combination is fried, occasionally
> stirred around with a spatula. The result is a lumpy substance. The best
> scrambled eggs are whipped well and they come out a bit fluffy and
> spongy. Sometimes milk, ham, onions, chilies or other spices can be
> added, but most restaurants will serve them plain.
> 
> II. Fried "sunny side up" (in some countries, this is called "poached")
> -- Eggs are broken into a frying pan and not disturbed. The result is a
> thin, white, rubbery disk with a bright yellow mound in the middle. You
> can order it so that the yolk is still "runny" or you can ask that it be
> fried until the edges of the white are brown and crispy. Some state laws
> require that the egg be cooked until the yolk is completely un-runny
> (this is no fun).
> 
> III. Fried "over easy" -- Just like above except that the egg is flipped
> over once during cooking. The result is that the yolk is hidden
> underneath the white. This method usually results in more even cooking of
> the egg, but the "easy" designates that the yolk should still be runny.
> 
> IV. Omelet/Omelette -- The egg is whipped and poured evenly into the
> frying pan so that it forms an even, pancake-like or crepe-like thin,
> wide disk. "Stuffings" are placed in the middle (onions, cheese, ham,
> bacon, green peppers, tomatoes, chilis, spinach, spices, whatever) and
> the ends are folded inwards so that a pocket shape is formed.
> 
> V. Boiled/Hard Boiled/Full Boiled -- The egg is not broken. It is cooked
> in boiling water until hard. The shell can be pulled off quite easily,
> leaving a firm, egg-shaped white and yolk with no runny parts. This is
> very popular among travellers, because it is compact and not messy.
> 
> VI. Soft Boiled/Half Boiled -- Same as above except that it is cooked
> only a little bit (two or three minutes). The white and yolk remain very
> runny. You have to eat it with a spoon. This is a favorite among children
> (and me). You dip pieces of toast into it.
> 
> VII. Poached -- This is the fanciest kind of breakfast or brunch egg and
> will usually only be offered in more expensive restaurants and combines
> the best features of a fried egg and a soft-boiled egg. The egg is
> cracked into water that is already boiling. The proper technique keeps
> the whole egg together (no egg soup, please) and the white is cooked
> until firm but the yolk remains runny.
> 
>   A. Eggs benedict -- The poached egg is placed on some kind of bread
> (French brioche or English muffin is the best) and the whole thing is
> covered in Hollandaise sauce. Sometimes there is a slice of meat (e.g.,
> Canadian bacon or smoked salmon) between the egg and the bread.
> 
>     B. Eggs florentine -- Same as above only with spinach.
> 
> Good eating!
> 
> Ananda
VIII.  Shirred 
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From: [email protected] (Robert Lipton)
Date: 11 Apr 1997 19:15:23 -0400
: Stephen wrote:
: > How many different ways can you order your eggs?
Fried (easy, medium, well-done)
Over (easy medium,  well-done)
Omelet
Basted
Shirred
Baked
Boiled (generally in time)
Poached
Scrambled
Bob
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From: Ralph M Jones 
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 19:49:35 -0500
Organization: Houston Area League of PC Users
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Robert Lipton wrote:
> 
> : Stephen wrote:
> 
> : > How many different ways can you order your eggs?
> 
> Fried (easy, medium, well-done)
> Over (easy medium,  well-done)
> Omelet
> Basted
> Shirred
> Baked
> Boiled (generally in time)
> Poached
> Scrambled
> 
> Bob
I think I've tried all but the last one. How do you bob eggs?
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From: [email protected] (Bob Cunningham)
Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 01:35:01 GMT
On Wed, 11 Mar 1998 12:59:02 GMT, [email protected] (Brian J Goggin)
said:
[ . . . ]
>And the problem is that the eggs should be deep-fried while the bacon
>should be shallow-fried.
I can't imagine fried eggs being better than they were when my
grandmother fried them.  She would first fry the bacon until it was
crisp and most of the fat had been extracted from it.  She would put the
bacon in the 'warming oven' at the top of the old coal stove, then she
would fry the eggs.  She would leave them sunny side up and baste them
with spoonful after spoonful of the bacon grease.  The spoon she had
been using to do this for many years was worn flat on one side from the
basting.
Basted eggs sunny side up, crisp bacon, scones (fried bread dough),
homemade strawberry jam, ... .  It still makes my mouth water to think
about it, and it all happened before 1932.
Obaue:  Yes, in Utah 'scone' means fried bread dough.  It even says so
in AHD3.
 - - - - -
From: [email protected] (Brian J Goggin)
Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 10:29:12 GMT
On Fri, 13 Mar 1998 01:35:01 GMT, [email protected] (Bob
Cunningham) wrote:
[...]
>I can't imagine fried eggs being better than they were when my
>grandmother fried them.  She would first fry the bacon until it was
>crisp and most of the fat had been extracted from it.  She would put the
>bacon in the 'warming oven' at the top of the old coal stove, then she
>would fry the eggs.  She would leave them sunny side up and baste them
>with spoonful after spoonful of the bacon grease.  The spoon she had
>been using to do this for many years was worn flat on one side from the
>basting.
I heartily approve of your grandmother's method. The basting
replicates the effect of deep-frying: it means that hot fat covers the
top of the egg.
The problem with much modern bacon is that it produces more water than
fat.
As an alternative to the Utah scone, I suggest some fried Irish soda
bread; brown is even better than white. After doing the eggs, add
extra butter to the pan (the soda bread will absorb a lot of fat),
turn up the heat and fry the slices of soda bread on both sides.
bjg
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From: [email protected] (Mark Odegard)
Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 03:37:39 GMT
[Posted, e-mailed]  **Please note Spam Trap** On Fri, 13 Mar
1998 05:43:16 GMT, [email protected] (Polar) in
<[email protected]> wrote
|Yuck!  Greasy. 
I confess to a love for cholesterol too, but bacon-grease basted
eggs . . . this thread makes my gallbladder quease. Can't we
breakfaast on some nice bagels with cream cheese and lox?
--
Mark Odegard. (Note change in domain name but not ISP)
Emailed copies of responses are very much appreciated.
 - - - - -
From: [email protected] (Truly Donovan)
Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 05:11:06 GMT
On Sat, 14 Mar 1998 03:37:39 GMT, [email protected] (Mark
Odegard) wrote:
>[Posted, e-mailed]  **Please note Spam Trap** On Fri, 13 Mar
>1998 05:43:16 GMT, [email protected] (Polar) in
><[email protected]> wrote
>
>|Yuck!  Greasy. 
>
>I confess to a love for cholesterol too, but bacon-grease basted
>eggs . . . this thread makes my gallbladder quease. Can't we
>breakfaast on some nice bagels with cream cheese and lox?
Oh, for crying out loud, you don't leave it there.  It runs off.
There's only a slight film of the stuff left when it's all done.    
I trust your cream cheese has been defatted and inedibliated.
-- 
Truly Donovan
reply to truly at lunemere dot com
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From: "(The Left Rev.) John Konopak" 
Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 13:02:07 -0600
Mark Odegard wrote:
> 
> [Posted, e-mailed]  **Please note Spam Trap** On Fri, 13 Mar
> 1998 05:43:16 GMT, [email protected] (Polar) in
> <[email protected]> wrote
> 
> |Yuck!  Greasy.
> 
> I confess to a love for cholesterol too, but bacon-grease basted
> eggs . . . this thread makes my gallbladder quease. Can't we
> breakfaast on some nice bagels with cream cheese and lox?
Long ago, when rail travel was the ONLY way to go, I always looked
forward to breakfast on the Super Chief or the Panama Limited, when the
entree was a PERFECT three-minute egg scooped piping hot from its shell
into a bowl into which had already been deposited two pieces shredded
toast, from freshly baked bread, absolutely laden with fresh unsalted
butter, all of which was then thoroughly coated with fresh-ground pepper
and a pinch of salt. I still salivate uncontrollably at the thought.
John "But spare me the locals" Konopak
 - - - - -
From: [email protected] (Polar)
Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 21:13:23 GMT
On Sat, 14 Mar 1998 13:02:07 -0600, "(The Left Rev.) John Konopak"
 wrote:
>Mark Odegard wrote:
>> 
>> [Posted, e-mailed]  **Please note Spam Trap** On Fri, 13 Mar
>> 1998 05:43:16 GMT, [email protected] (Polar) in
>> <[email protected]> wrote
>> 
>> |Yuck!  Greasy.
>> 
>> I confess to a love for cholesterol too, but bacon-grease basted
>> eggs . . . this thread makes my gallbladder quease. Can't we
>> breakfaast on some nice bagels with cream cheese and lox?
>
>Long ago, when rail travel was the ONLY way to go, I always looked
>forward to breakfast on the Super Chief or the Panama Limited, when the
>entree was a PERFECT three-minute egg scooped piping hot from its shell
>into a bowl into which had already been deposited two pieces shredded
>toast, from freshly baked bread, absolutely laden with fresh unsalted
>butter, all of which was then thoroughly coated with fresh-ground pepper
>and a pinch of salt. I still salivate uncontrollably at the thought.
Right up my alley, pal.  Drool, drool.
Two emendations:  The perfect egg is 5 minutes,  not a second more.
White is set; yolk still creamy.   And some crisp (none of your soggy
fork food!) bacon is crumbled  in with the toast  bits.  No butter
required.  And I don't even have to board a train to Do It.  Not that
I could find one if I wanted to...
Polar

This file was last modified 7 April 2001 18:14 GMT.