eggs fried easy, while boiled soft
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Why are eggs fried (over-)easy while boiled soft?
I looked for etymological clues on the phrase "over-easy", but could find one.
In both frying and boiling, fully cooked eggs are hard in the sense of stiffness, not of difficulty, so I can't understand where the easiness is coming from.
etymology
New contributor
add a comment |
Why are eggs fried (over-)easy while boiled soft?
I looked for etymological clues on the phrase "over-easy", but could find one.
In both frying and boiling, fully cooked eggs are hard in the sense of stiffness, not of difficulty, so I can't understand where the easiness is coming from.
etymology
New contributor
Explain that to a 16th-century cook with no formal education.
– Hot Licks
yesterday
3
Eggs are over easy or over hard depending on how you flip them, not on their consistency. Of related interest: Eggs fried/scrambled “over easy” or “over hard” — refers to the pan, the egg, or something else? and How can I order eggs “over hard” in the UK?
– choster
yesterday
add a comment |
Why are eggs fried (over-)easy while boiled soft?
I looked for etymological clues on the phrase "over-easy", but could find one.
In both frying and boiling, fully cooked eggs are hard in the sense of stiffness, not of difficulty, so I can't understand where the easiness is coming from.
etymology
New contributor
Why are eggs fried (over-)easy while boiled soft?
I looked for etymological clues on the phrase "over-easy", but could find one.
In both frying and boiling, fully cooked eggs are hard in the sense of stiffness, not of difficulty, so I can't understand where the easiness is coming from.
etymology
etymology
New contributor
New contributor
edited 11 hours ago
krim
New contributor
asked yesterday
krimkrim
1133
1133
New contributor
New contributor
Explain that to a 16th-century cook with no formal education.
– Hot Licks
yesterday
3
Eggs are over easy or over hard depending on how you flip them, not on their consistency. Of related interest: Eggs fried/scrambled “over easy” or “over hard” — refers to the pan, the egg, or something else? and How can I order eggs “over hard” in the UK?
– choster
yesterday
add a comment |
Explain that to a 16th-century cook with no formal education.
– Hot Licks
yesterday
3
Eggs are over easy or over hard depending on how you flip them, not on their consistency. Of related interest: Eggs fried/scrambled “over easy” or “over hard” — refers to the pan, the egg, or something else? and How can I order eggs “over hard” in the UK?
– choster
yesterday
Explain that to a 16th-century cook with no formal education.
– Hot Licks
yesterday
Explain that to a 16th-century cook with no formal education.
– Hot Licks
yesterday
3
3
Eggs are over easy or over hard depending on how you flip them, not on their consistency. Of related interest: Eggs fried/scrambled “over easy” or “over hard” — refers to the pan, the egg, or something else? and How can I order eggs “over hard” in the UK?
– choster
yesterday
Eggs are over easy or over hard depending on how you flip them, not on their consistency. Of related interest: Eggs fried/scrambled “over easy” or “over hard” — refers to the pan, the egg, or something else? and How can I order eggs “over hard” in the UK?
– choster
yesterday
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
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In both frying and boiling, fully cooked eggs are hard in the sense of stiffness . . .
No, this is not true.
When frying eggs, easy and hard are flat adverbs referring to how gently (or not) you flip the eggs.
"I want my eggs over-easy."
→ "Be gentle with my eggs. Flip them easy.
In other words, flip the eggs in such a way that the egg yolks don't break. (Whether or not the egg yolks ooze when cut into after the eggs have been served depends on how long they have been fried after having been flipped. Normally, an oozing yolk is the intended result—but it doesn't have to be.)
"I want my eggs over-hard."
→ "Be aggressive with my eggs. Flip them hard.
In other words, flip the eggs in such a way that the egg yolks do break. (There should never be runny yolks when the eggs are served. The yolks will have spread out into the whites when cooked.) Sometimes, people will deliberately break the egg yolks before the eggs are flipped in order to accomplish the same effect. (Breaking an egg on flipping it is not actually simple.)
The description is one that describes the way in which they are flipped over. (Hence, the over- prefix.)
Note that a sunny side up egg is one that is fried but never flipped at all.
When boiling eggs, easy and hard are adjectives that describe the texture of the result. As you say, the words describe the stiffness (generally of the yolk).
Boiled eggs are neither over-easy nor over-hard. They are not flipped over at all. They are simply soft or hard as a result of the cooking time.
Today I learned something new. Not having ever ordered fried eggs in a restaurant, it's never on Italian menus, I had always thought that "over-hard" meant cook the unbroken yolks until they are firm (hard). And "over-easy" meant the soft yolks should be easy to break.
– Mari-Lou A
23 hours ago
1
A reference would be extra nice though.
– Mari-Lou A
23 hours ago
I learnt something new as well – I never actually knew what the difference is between the two. Like Mari-Lou, I’ve never ordered fried eggs in a restaurant (and when I make them myself, they tend to become what I suspect most people will just call over, full stop). I didn’t even realise there were more conventionally distinct ways than sunny side up and flipped over!
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
19 hours ago
2
See Gimme Some Oven: How to Make Fried Eggs. As a former professional (I had to make money while at university), I'd say it's mostly correct. It also links to correct ways to boil eggs (poach, soft-boil, hard-boil). It goes a little bit wrong with over-hard, in that professionally, to save time, we broke the egg yolks; it also fails to mention that most commercial breakfast cooks set the grill or the egg-pan burner--what I used--temperatures too high, and so do not properly cook the egg-whites for over-easy and over-medium.
– JEL
11 hours ago
1
@JEL Frying eggs at home, I've discovered it's best to use low heat and cover the frying pan.
– Jason Bassford
11 hours ago
|
show 3 more comments
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In both frying and boiling, fully cooked eggs are hard in the sense of stiffness . . .
No, this is not true.
When frying eggs, easy and hard are flat adverbs referring to how gently (or not) you flip the eggs.
"I want my eggs over-easy."
→ "Be gentle with my eggs. Flip them easy.
In other words, flip the eggs in such a way that the egg yolks don't break. (Whether or not the egg yolks ooze when cut into after the eggs have been served depends on how long they have been fried after having been flipped. Normally, an oozing yolk is the intended result—but it doesn't have to be.)
"I want my eggs over-hard."
→ "Be aggressive with my eggs. Flip them hard.
In other words, flip the eggs in such a way that the egg yolks do break. (There should never be runny yolks when the eggs are served. The yolks will have spread out into the whites when cooked.) Sometimes, people will deliberately break the egg yolks before the eggs are flipped in order to accomplish the same effect. (Breaking an egg on flipping it is not actually simple.)
The description is one that describes the way in which they are flipped over. (Hence, the over- prefix.)
Note that a sunny side up egg is one that is fried but never flipped at all.
When boiling eggs, easy and hard are adjectives that describe the texture of the result. As you say, the words describe the stiffness (generally of the yolk).
Boiled eggs are neither over-easy nor over-hard. They are not flipped over at all. They are simply soft or hard as a result of the cooking time.
Today I learned something new. Not having ever ordered fried eggs in a restaurant, it's never on Italian menus, I had always thought that "over-hard" meant cook the unbroken yolks until they are firm (hard). And "over-easy" meant the soft yolks should be easy to break.
– Mari-Lou A
23 hours ago
1
A reference would be extra nice though.
– Mari-Lou A
23 hours ago
I learnt something new as well – I never actually knew what the difference is between the two. Like Mari-Lou, I’ve never ordered fried eggs in a restaurant (and when I make them myself, they tend to become what I suspect most people will just call over, full stop). I didn’t even realise there were more conventionally distinct ways than sunny side up and flipped over!
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
19 hours ago
2
See Gimme Some Oven: How to Make Fried Eggs. As a former professional (I had to make money while at university), I'd say it's mostly correct. It also links to correct ways to boil eggs (poach, soft-boil, hard-boil). It goes a little bit wrong with over-hard, in that professionally, to save time, we broke the egg yolks; it also fails to mention that most commercial breakfast cooks set the grill or the egg-pan burner--what I used--temperatures too high, and so do not properly cook the egg-whites for over-easy and over-medium.
– JEL
11 hours ago
1
@JEL Frying eggs at home, I've discovered it's best to use low heat and cover the frying pan.
– Jason Bassford
11 hours ago
|
show 3 more comments
In both frying and boiling, fully cooked eggs are hard in the sense of stiffness . . .
No, this is not true.
When frying eggs, easy and hard are flat adverbs referring to how gently (or not) you flip the eggs.
"I want my eggs over-easy."
→ "Be gentle with my eggs. Flip them easy.
In other words, flip the eggs in such a way that the egg yolks don't break. (Whether or not the egg yolks ooze when cut into after the eggs have been served depends on how long they have been fried after having been flipped. Normally, an oozing yolk is the intended result—but it doesn't have to be.)
"I want my eggs over-hard."
→ "Be aggressive with my eggs. Flip them hard.
In other words, flip the eggs in such a way that the egg yolks do break. (There should never be runny yolks when the eggs are served. The yolks will have spread out into the whites when cooked.) Sometimes, people will deliberately break the egg yolks before the eggs are flipped in order to accomplish the same effect. (Breaking an egg on flipping it is not actually simple.)
The description is one that describes the way in which they are flipped over. (Hence, the over- prefix.)
Note that a sunny side up egg is one that is fried but never flipped at all.
When boiling eggs, easy and hard are adjectives that describe the texture of the result. As you say, the words describe the stiffness (generally of the yolk).
Boiled eggs are neither over-easy nor over-hard. They are not flipped over at all. They are simply soft or hard as a result of the cooking time.
Today I learned something new. Not having ever ordered fried eggs in a restaurant, it's never on Italian menus, I had always thought that "over-hard" meant cook the unbroken yolks until they are firm (hard). And "over-easy" meant the soft yolks should be easy to break.
– Mari-Lou A
23 hours ago
1
A reference would be extra nice though.
– Mari-Lou A
23 hours ago
I learnt something new as well – I never actually knew what the difference is between the two. Like Mari-Lou, I’ve never ordered fried eggs in a restaurant (and when I make them myself, they tend to become what I suspect most people will just call over, full stop). I didn’t even realise there were more conventionally distinct ways than sunny side up and flipped over!
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
19 hours ago
2
See Gimme Some Oven: How to Make Fried Eggs. As a former professional (I had to make money while at university), I'd say it's mostly correct. It also links to correct ways to boil eggs (poach, soft-boil, hard-boil). It goes a little bit wrong with over-hard, in that professionally, to save time, we broke the egg yolks; it also fails to mention that most commercial breakfast cooks set the grill or the egg-pan burner--what I used--temperatures too high, and so do not properly cook the egg-whites for over-easy and over-medium.
– JEL
11 hours ago
1
@JEL Frying eggs at home, I've discovered it's best to use low heat and cover the frying pan.
– Jason Bassford
11 hours ago
|
show 3 more comments
In both frying and boiling, fully cooked eggs are hard in the sense of stiffness . . .
No, this is not true.
When frying eggs, easy and hard are flat adverbs referring to how gently (or not) you flip the eggs.
"I want my eggs over-easy."
→ "Be gentle with my eggs. Flip them easy.
In other words, flip the eggs in such a way that the egg yolks don't break. (Whether or not the egg yolks ooze when cut into after the eggs have been served depends on how long they have been fried after having been flipped. Normally, an oozing yolk is the intended result—but it doesn't have to be.)
"I want my eggs over-hard."
→ "Be aggressive with my eggs. Flip them hard.
In other words, flip the eggs in such a way that the egg yolks do break. (There should never be runny yolks when the eggs are served. The yolks will have spread out into the whites when cooked.) Sometimes, people will deliberately break the egg yolks before the eggs are flipped in order to accomplish the same effect. (Breaking an egg on flipping it is not actually simple.)
The description is one that describes the way in which they are flipped over. (Hence, the over- prefix.)
Note that a sunny side up egg is one that is fried but never flipped at all.
When boiling eggs, easy and hard are adjectives that describe the texture of the result. As you say, the words describe the stiffness (generally of the yolk).
Boiled eggs are neither over-easy nor over-hard. They are not flipped over at all. They are simply soft or hard as a result of the cooking time.
In both frying and boiling, fully cooked eggs are hard in the sense of stiffness . . .
No, this is not true.
When frying eggs, easy and hard are flat adverbs referring to how gently (or not) you flip the eggs.
"I want my eggs over-easy."
→ "Be gentle with my eggs. Flip them easy.
In other words, flip the eggs in such a way that the egg yolks don't break. (Whether or not the egg yolks ooze when cut into after the eggs have been served depends on how long they have been fried after having been flipped. Normally, an oozing yolk is the intended result—but it doesn't have to be.)
"I want my eggs over-hard."
→ "Be aggressive with my eggs. Flip them hard.
In other words, flip the eggs in such a way that the egg yolks do break. (There should never be runny yolks when the eggs are served. The yolks will have spread out into the whites when cooked.) Sometimes, people will deliberately break the egg yolks before the eggs are flipped in order to accomplish the same effect. (Breaking an egg on flipping it is not actually simple.)
The description is one that describes the way in which they are flipped over. (Hence, the over- prefix.)
Note that a sunny side up egg is one that is fried but never flipped at all.
When boiling eggs, easy and hard are adjectives that describe the texture of the result. As you say, the words describe the stiffness (generally of the yolk).
Boiled eggs are neither over-easy nor over-hard. They are not flipped over at all. They are simply soft or hard as a result of the cooking time.
edited yesterday
answered yesterday
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
21.2k32752
21.2k32752
Today I learned something new. Not having ever ordered fried eggs in a restaurant, it's never on Italian menus, I had always thought that "over-hard" meant cook the unbroken yolks until they are firm (hard). And "over-easy" meant the soft yolks should be easy to break.
– Mari-Lou A
23 hours ago
1
A reference would be extra nice though.
– Mari-Lou A
23 hours ago
I learnt something new as well – I never actually knew what the difference is between the two. Like Mari-Lou, I’ve never ordered fried eggs in a restaurant (and when I make them myself, they tend to become what I suspect most people will just call over, full stop). I didn’t even realise there were more conventionally distinct ways than sunny side up and flipped over!
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
19 hours ago
2
See Gimme Some Oven: How to Make Fried Eggs. As a former professional (I had to make money while at university), I'd say it's mostly correct. It also links to correct ways to boil eggs (poach, soft-boil, hard-boil). It goes a little bit wrong with over-hard, in that professionally, to save time, we broke the egg yolks; it also fails to mention that most commercial breakfast cooks set the grill or the egg-pan burner--what I used--temperatures too high, and so do not properly cook the egg-whites for over-easy and over-medium.
– JEL
11 hours ago
1
@JEL Frying eggs at home, I've discovered it's best to use low heat and cover the frying pan.
– Jason Bassford
11 hours ago
|
show 3 more comments
Today I learned something new. Not having ever ordered fried eggs in a restaurant, it's never on Italian menus, I had always thought that "over-hard" meant cook the unbroken yolks until they are firm (hard). And "over-easy" meant the soft yolks should be easy to break.
– Mari-Lou A
23 hours ago
1
A reference would be extra nice though.
– Mari-Lou A
23 hours ago
I learnt something new as well – I never actually knew what the difference is between the two. Like Mari-Lou, I’ve never ordered fried eggs in a restaurant (and when I make them myself, they tend to become what I suspect most people will just call over, full stop). I didn’t even realise there were more conventionally distinct ways than sunny side up and flipped over!
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
19 hours ago
2
See Gimme Some Oven: How to Make Fried Eggs. As a former professional (I had to make money while at university), I'd say it's mostly correct. It also links to correct ways to boil eggs (poach, soft-boil, hard-boil). It goes a little bit wrong with over-hard, in that professionally, to save time, we broke the egg yolks; it also fails to mention that most commercial breakfast cooks set the grill or the egg-pan burner--what I used--temperatures too high, and so do not properly cook the egg-whites for over-easy and over-medium.
– JEL
11 hours ago
1
@JEL Frying eggs at home, I've discovered it's best to use low heat and cover the frying pan.
– Jason Bassford
11 hours ago
Today I learned something new. Not having ever ordered fried eggs in a restaurant, it's never on Italian menus, I had always thought that "over-hard" meant cook the unbroken yolks until they are firm (hard). And "over-easy" meant the soft yolks should be easy to break.
– Mari-Lou A
23 hours ago
Today I learned something new. Not having ever ordered fried eggs in a restaurant, it's never on Italian menus, I had always thought that "over-hard" meant cook the unbroken yolks until they are firm (hard). And "over-easy" meant the soft yolks should be easy to break.
– Mari-Lou A
23 hours ago
1
1
A reference would be extra nice though.
– Mari-Lou A
23 hours ago
A reference would be extra nice though.
– Mari-Lou A
23 hours ago
I learnt something new as well – I never actually knew what the difference is between the two. Like Mari-Lou, I’ve never ordered fried eggs in a restaurant (and when I make them myself, they tend to become what I suspect most people will just call over, full stop). I didn’t even realise there were more conventionally distinct ways than sunny side up and flipped over!
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
19 hours ago
I learnt something new as well – I never actually knew what the difference is between the two. Like Mari-Lou, I’ve never ordered fried eggs in a restaurant (and when I make them myself, they tend to become what I suspect most people will just call over, full stop). I didn’t even realise there were more conventionally distinct ways than sunny side up and flipped over!
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
19 hours ago
2
2
See Gimme Some Oven: How to Make Fried Eggs. As a former professional (I had to make money while at university), I'd say it's mostly correct. It also links to correct ways to boil eggs (poach, soft-boil, hard-boil). It goes a little bit wrong with over-hard, in that professionally, to save time, we broke the egg yolks; it also fails to mention that most commercial breakfast cooks set the grill or the egg-pan burner--what I used--temperatures too high, and so do not properly cook the egg-whites for over-easy and over-medium.
– JEL
11 hours ago
See Gimme Some Oven: How to Make Fried Eggs. As a former professional (I had to make money while at university), I'd say it's mostly correct. It also links to correct ways to boil eggs (poach, soft-boil, hard-boil). It goes a little bit wrong with over-hard, in that professionally, to save time, we broke the egg yolks; it also fails to mention that most commercial breakfast cooks set the grill or the egg-pan burner--what I used--temperatures too high, and so do not properly cook the egg-whites for over-easy and over-medium.
– JEL
11 hours ago
1
1
@JEL Frying eggs at home, I've discovered it's best to use low heat and cover the frying pan.
– Jason Bassford
11 hours ago
@JEL Frying eggs at home, I've discovered it's best to use low heat and cover the frying pan.
– Jason Bassford
11 hours ago
|
show 3 more comments
krim is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
krim is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
krim is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
krim is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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Explain that to a 16th-century cook with no formal education.
– Hot Licks
yesterday
3
Eggs are over easy or over hard depending on how you flip them, not on their consistency. Of related interest: Eggs fried/scrambled “over easy” or “over hard” — refers to the pan, the egg, or something else? and How can I order eggs “over hard” in the UK?
– choster
yesterday