You’re at your favorite post-night out breakfast joint, and you can’t decide what kind of eggs you want. Your head is pounding with a headache and your ears are still ringing a little from the night before, preventing you from shuffling through your directory of egg preparations to pick just the right one cure.
Lucky for you, I’m about to explain the most popular eggs, so whenever you are in a pickle, this guide will lead you toward eggsactly what you want.
1) Scrambled Eggs
A classic, and a common default answer when a decision is at hand. Scrambled eggs have a simple premise; they are usually two to three eggs, mixed together, and fried in a pan while being mixed about so they are served in little egg-vessels of happiness. If you’re anything like me, they are usually the result of a failed attempt at omelets.
Scrambles can be convenient at a restaurant because they are hard to mess up. They can be even easier if you are cooking at home because you can mix a lot of ingredients with the scramble, and make your meal even tastier.
2) Over easy, over hard, over medium
Named appropriately, over-“anything” eggs are simply fried eggs, that start out sunny side up, and then are flipped over to achieve a little cooking on the yolk-side of the egg.
Over easy eggs have a slight cooking of the yolk, but will still be able to have a popped yolk and ooze its goodness over the rest of the dish.
Over medium eggs have a cooked yolk, that will have a soft and fluffy texture without seeming extremely dense.
Finally, over-hard eggs are like sunny-side up and pancake hybrids. Both sides will be “fully cooked” and the yolk may be a little denser than normal. If you don’t want the mess of an oozing egg, but don’t want the mixing that exists in scrambled or omelet forms, then this style may be the one for you.
3) Sunny side up
Simple, quick, and easy. Sunny side up are eggs cracked and fried on the pan, with no funny business in between, and no flipping afterward. These eggs provide the most excitement of the bunch because the yolk might burst and spread about but it’s a mystery as to when.
4) Omelet
Omelets are those eggs that the scrambled eggs are jealous of because they represent the true potential of perfectly mixed and matched (with ingredients) eggs.
Omelets can either be folded over and hold a cheesy, yummy surprise inside or they can simply (and skillfully) be flipped over and fried on both side. Omelets, just like scrambled eggs, are extremely versatile and can be a good option when you know you want eggs, just not exactly how you want them.
5) Hard boiled, soft boiled
These eggs aren’t exclusively for breakfast. Hard-boiled eggs, which are boiled in water for a little longer than soft-boiled, have a fully cooked through yolk. This allows them to be sliced, and diced, and added to a salad for a little extra flavor, a new texture, and some protein.
Soft-boiled eggs are like hard-boiled eggs’ more exciting cousin. The egg white is still fully cooked through, whereas the yolk is still somewhat liquidy and packs a little surprise (much like popping it in the sunny side up), due to a little less time in the boiling water.
Both are delicious, but if you’re looking for a true breakfast egg, may not necessarily be the most exciting direction to go in.
6) Eggs Benedict
These eggs are a quintessential American brunch item. The actual “egg” part of this dish is served as a poached egg, smothered with love in the form of hollandaise sauce and sitting atop an English muffin.
These are a great dish that combines a few favorites and are a little ~fancy~ feast.
8) Egg whites
When I eat eggs, I try to stick to only egg whites. Egg whites contain more of the protein part of the eggs, whereas the yolk contains more of the fatty part. The true flavor of an egg tends to be carried in the yolk, but I like to fry up egg whites so I can save some room for the bacon and homefries.
9) Frittata
I think of frittatas as glorified omelets. They are a bit thicker, usually with all the ingredients mixed in rather than folded inside, and are usually baked in a skillet or another dish.
Frittatas have become a new favorite for me, again due to their versatility and the amount you can pack into a small bite. A good frittata can turn any morning around.
Eggs are a great way to start the day, a great addition to a meal, and are crucial to any morning-after-meal. Deciding which style fits your needs is the first step to recovery. A good breakfast will turn your mood from #struggling to eggstatic. Best of luck in your hangover cure eggdeavors.