# America and egg cups **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2017, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904 "2017-07-10T09:21:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/301 "2017-07-13T17:50:50Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Shakshouka is indeed a wonder of the world. For those who don’t feel like clicking on the link, it’s basically eggs poached in tomato sauce, with bell peppers, garlic, and anything else you feel like adding, and with bread on the side for dipping and wiping. I think that can all of us, American, English and miscellaneous, can come together and agree that it is, in fact, the finest way to eat eggs for breakfast. I believe I saw “the hairy bikers” do something very similar when they were in the middle east. Looked really good, some home made flat breads for dipping and I’d be a happy man. Probably not for breakfast though, that’d be a bit too intense to start the day for me and I’m not sure I could have coffee at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/302 "2017-07-13T19:07:55Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > It may have once been more popular in the US than it is now. I remember egg cups being featured in an episode of The Andy Griffith Show (4:54 into [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6xEWoYKTt0) segment.) I can’t remember seeing one shown in a much more recent show depicting people eating breakfast (or on the table in commercials for breakfast foods.) > [@TriPolar](#): > > I think soft boiled eggs were on a decline in America well before the salmonella alarms went off. In the 50s and 60s you ate them when you were sick as already noted, or saw grandma or grandpa eating them. And as you can tell from this thread no one had egg cups. Just discovered this thread. I’m another non-American, a bit surprised to discover that soft-boiled eggs are nowadays rare-ish in the US, though far from unknown. (Fair enough, each to their own, etc.) I’d see another suggestion that they were perhaps more widespread on the US menu “back in the day”, in the bit from the song _The Big Rock Candy Mountain_: “The bulldogs all have rubber teeth, And the hens lay soft-boiled eggs.” Or might it be that s-b.e. used to be a a particular thing in the hobo community – to a greater extent than on more “mainstream” American scenes? ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/303 "2017-07-13T19:45:00Z")
Even in the US, though, if you ask Siri to set a timer for three minutes, her (our Siri is a her by default) response is often “don’t overcook that egg!” As for the refrigeration thing: it pretty much comes down to how fast you use eggs. Refrigerated eggs last about eight times as long as unrefrigerated ones; the rule of thumb is you get a week in the box for each day on the shelf. if you go through eggs quickly enough that it doesn’t matter, unrefridgerated ones work better for a lot of recipes. Me? I don’t shop often enough, and my wife rarely eats eggs at all, so it’s handy to be able to keep them around a couple of months without them going bad. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/304 "2017-07-13T20:12:17Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > I’d see another suggestion that they were perhaps more widespread on the US menu “back in the day”, in the bit from the song _The Big Rock Candy Mountain_: > > “The bulldogs all have rubber teeth, > And the hens lay soft-boiled eggs.” I’m not familiar with the song, but it could be just a matter of getting the beat of the lyrics right–“boiled eggs” needed one more syllable. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/305 "2017-07-13T20:23:28Z")
You never saw _O Brother, Where Art Thou_? It’s the song that plays over the opening credits. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/306 "2017-07-13T23:18:42Z")
So I’ve never had an electric kettle. Teach me. How is it possible that the electric kettle boils things faster than my stove, without it using less water? That would suggest the small device gets hotter than a stovetop. I’d always assumed that they boiled faster due to having less water, which was great for tea, since you don’t need a lot of water for a few tea cups. Sure, if your stovetop is ceramic or your pot really heavy, I could see it taking longer to get hot. But why would an electric or gas stove not get hot just as fast as an electric kettle? I know that my old-style coffeemaker (which is like an electric kettle with a metal basket on top for coffee) didn’t boil water any faster than the stove. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/307 "2017-07-13T23:25:25Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > So I’ve never had an electric kettle. Teach me. How is it possible that the electric kettle boils things faster than my stove, without it using less water? That would suggest the small device gets hotter than a stovetop. > > I’d always assumed that they boiled faster due to having less water, which was great for tea, since you don’t need a lot of water for a few tea cups. > > Sure, if your stovetop is ceramic or your pot really heavy, I could see it taking longer to get hot. But why would an electric or gas stove not get hot just as fast as an electric kettle? > > I know that my old-style coffeemaker (which is like an electric kettle with a metal basket on top for coffee) didn’t boil water any faster than the stove. the heating element is in direct contact with the water inside; either a coil inside the kettle reservoir or built into the base of the kettle. if you have a gas cooktop, then a lot of heat escapes out from under the pan; electric, there’s imperfect conduction of heat from the burner coil to the base of whatever vessel you’re using to boil water. even at only 1500 watts, the electric kettle my co-worker occasionally uses boils water surprisingly fast. ---
**Author:** ![4d3fect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/4d3fect/32/9728_2.png) [@4d3fect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4d3fect)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/308 "2017-07-13T23:34:30Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > the heating element is in direct contact with the water inside; either a coil inside the kettle reservoir or built into the base of the kettle. if you have a gas cooktop, then a lot of heat escapes out from under the pan; electric, there’s imperfect conduction of heat from the burner coil to the base of whatever vessel you’re using to boil water. > > even at only 1500 watts, the electric kettle my co-worker occasionally uses boils water surprisingly fast. Those suckers are fast. And LOUD. My wife makes tea throughout the day, and it’s like a small jet taking taking off on the kitchen counter. Forget a conversation until that thing is finished. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/309 "2017-07-14T00:26:34Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > What I really don’t understand about America is that Americans don’t use electric kettles. I don’t know how it’s possible to _live_ without one. 🙂 They never seem clean. They exist and occasionally I’ll see one in the office. But I wouldn’t even drink water that’s just been boiled from one. (This is even true of ones I’ve seen overseas. They always seem a little bit suspect). ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/310 "2017-07-14T02:14:20Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, we never bothered with that technique. It was just tap around the tip with the back of your spoon and peel off the eggshell cap. Then use the side of your spoon to scoop off the actual egg cap, and voila. You’re in. Ah, that might take a person a little extra knack. The knife is kind of cheating, the edge is so thin, it’s hard to mess up the shell. Now if you want to really indulge, try a soft boiled duck egg. You will need extra soldiers for all that extra yolk. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/311 "2017-07-14T02:47:56Z")
> [@Weisshund](#): > > Ah, that might take a person a little extra knack. > The knife is kind of cheating, the edge is so thin, it’s hard to mess up the shell. > > Now if you want to really indulge, try a soft boiled duck egg. > You will need extra soldiers for all that extra yolk. I don’t think I’ve ever seen duck eggs for sale in the U.S. It’s probably possible to get them, maybe at a farmer’s market, but I’ve never seen them. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/312 "2017-07-14T03:27:06Z")
When I worked for the local food coop, the egg buyer was able to provide duck eggs from local poultry growers. Never ate them myself, but they always sold out. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/313 "2017-07-14T03:47:18Z")
Looking on Google I see that you can buy them online at $79 for 20 unfertilized eggs. :eek: They’d better be damned good eggs! ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/314 "2017-07-14T04:26:03Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > So I’ve never had an electric kettle. Teach me. How is it possible that the electric kettle boils things faster than my stove, without it using less water? That would suggest the small device gets hotter than a stovetop. > > I’d always assumed that they boiled faster due to having less water, which was great for tea, since you don’t need a lot of water for a few tea cups. > > Sure, if your stovetop is ceramic or your pot really heavy, I could see it taking longer to get hot. But why would an electric or gas stove not get hot just as fast as an electric kettle? > > I know that my old-style coffeemaker (which is like an electric kettle with a metal basket on top for coffee) didn’t boil water any faster than the stove. I’ll concede that if the coils are actually in the water the electric kettles might heat faster but it would be interesting to see unbiased stats of how much faster. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/315 "2017-07-14T07:15:46Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > I’d see another suggestion that they were perhaps more widespread on the US menu “back in the day”, in the bit from the song _The Big Rock Candy Mountain_: > > “The bulldogs all have rubber teeth, > And the hens lay soft-boiled eggs.” > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I’m not familiar with the song, but it could be just a matter of getting the beat of the lyrics right–“boiled eggs” needed one more syllable. At the risk of getting into thoroughly ridiculous discussion about highly-speculative minutiae: the song is, I believe, rather more than a century old, and describes how hobos would like their world to be. I’d suggest that “hard-boiled” would fit the metre equally well. If one were a hobo, catching an illicit ride on a freight car and hanging on for grim death; wouldn’t a hard-boiled egg seem more likely to be manageable with one’s occasionally free hand? ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/316 "2017-07-14T07:27:14Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > If one were a hobo, catching an illicit ride on a freight car and hanging on for grim death… Missed edit window – got my cliches mixed up ! One out of “for dear life” or “like grim death”, was presumably meant :o … ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/317 "2017-07-14T07:33:00Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > At the risk of getting into thoroughly ridiculous discussion about highly-speculative minutiae: the song is, I believe, rather more than a century old, and describes how hobos would like their world to be. I’d suggest that “hard-boiled” would fit the metre equally well. If one were a hobo, catching an illicit ride on a freight car and hanging on for grim death; wouldn’t a hard-boiled egg seem more likely to be manageable with one’s occasionally free hand? I think they’re singing about a land of luxuries where hopping on freight cars isn’t necessary; and where they have access to things they normally wouldn’t, like softboiled eggs. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/318 "2017-07-14T07:51:02Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > They never seem clean. > They exist and occasionally I’ll see one in the office. But I wouldn’t even drink water that’s just been boiled from one. (This is even true of ones I’ve seen overseas. They always seem a little bit suspect). It’s not dirt! Kettles tend to accumulate limescale over time. This is just dissolved minerals from the water, mostly calcium salts. Limescale may appear ‘dirty’, but it’s not. It’s harmless and has absolutely no health implications. It’s reasonably easy to clean with a solution of vinegar if you want to. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/319 "2017-07-14T07:52:06Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > I’ll concede that if the coils are actually in the water the electric kettles might heat faster but it would be interesting to see unbiased stats of how much faster. I did a little experiment just now. My standard £10 electric kettle heats a litre of room temperature water to a rolling boil and switched off automatically after 1 min 55 seconds Same litre of water at the same room temperature in a covered pan on a gas hob reached a rolling boil after 5 min and 50 seconds There will be some variation due to kettle types, hob types and pan shapes of course but that’s a massive difference. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/320 "2017-07-14T08:30:04Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > I’ll concede that if the coils are actually in the water the electric kettles might heat faster but it would be interesting to see unbiased stats of how much faster. In the interests of science, I put exactly 1 litre of cold water from the tap (at 16°C) into my 2kW kettle and timed it. It took 3min 8sec to reach a rolling boil. I’m at sea level, so boiling point should be 100°C. This is close to the theoretical time of 3min 2.5sec, so it means very little heat is being lost. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904.md?page=17)