# 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:** 17
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/321 "2017-07-14T08:33:42Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > 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. That’s some fine hands-on empricism there. I’m not of such a practical bent, so I [googled](http://www.slate.com/articles/life/shopping/2005/11/a_watched_pot.html): here’s a hard hitting Slate article that comes to a similar conclusion after testing a number of hob kettles against one electric one. > [@](#): > > OVERALL WINNER Bodum Ibis Electric Cordless, $35 Boil time: 4:25! And the results were identical every time I tried it. Please note that this is nearly (and sometimes more than) twice as fast as several of the other kettles. > > It’s no contest. Think of all the time you’ve wasted waiting for water to boil. You could have saved half that time by switching to this kettle. They say a watched pot never boils, but a watched electric kettle does in less than five minutes! ---
**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, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/322 "2017-07-14T11:12:36Z")
Well, I guess that’s fairly conclusive, thanks for the link. Still my speculation about saving a minute or two isn’t that far off. When preparing breakfast I almost never make just eggs so there is other things to do while my water reaches its boiling point. > [@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? My favorite line: In the Big Rock Candy Mountains You never change your socks And little streams of alcohol Come trickling down the rocks ---
**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 14, 2017, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/323 "2017-07-14T11:16:08Z")
> [@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 wasn’t aware of the age of the song until I googled it after posting my reply to you. (I had assumed something roughly in the same time frame as the Andy Griffith episode referenced it the quote.) I saw after googling that it was a 19th-centry song about grooming children for sodomizing. ---
**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 14, 2017, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/324 "2017-07-14T11:19:47Z")
[QUOTE=Novelty Bobble] 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 [/QUOTE] That sounds pretty slow. Maybe time to replace the goblin? ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/325 "2017-07-14T12:40:31Z")
> [@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). Do you know how to kill bacteria? Boiling water. What’s the only thing that ever comes out of a kettle? Boiling water. Really, it’s probably the cleanest utensil in the kitchen, despite the (harmless) deposits of limescale that can build up in hard water areas. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/326 "2017-07-14T13:10:30Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > [I have some bad news for you.](http://gizmodo.com/this-is-the-first-weekend-in-america-with-no-saturday-m-1642441646) Well. A new thread on the topic of a thing that Americans don’t do that other countries do beckons. No. It doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/327 "2017-07-14T13:18:31Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I saw after googling that it was a 19th-centry song about grooming children for sodomizing. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/328 "2017-07-14T13:31:13Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > :dubious: Here’s wikipedia on the song’s [history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Rock_Candy_Mountain#History): > [@](#): > > Before recording the song, [Harry] McClintock cleaned it up considerably from the version he sang as a street busker in the 1890s. Originally the song described a child being recruited into hobo life by tales of the “big rock candy mountain”. In later years, when McClintock appeared in court as part of a copyright dispute, he cited the original words of the song, the last stanza of which was: > > ``` > The punk rolled up his big blue eyes > And said to the jocker, "Sandy, > I've hiked and hiked and wandered too, > But I ain't seen any candy. > I've hiked and hiked till my feet are sore > And I'll be damned if I hike any more > **To be buggered sore like a hobo's whore** > In the Big Rock Candy Mountains. > > ``` (Bolding mine). Surprised me, too. ---
**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, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/329 "2017-07-14T13:31:17Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > Well. A new thread on the topic of a thing that Americans don’t do that other countries do beckons. > > No. It doesn’t. [Yes. It does.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=20344382#post20344382) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/330 "2017-07-14T14:56:16Z")
I was served one at a breakfast when I traveled to some friends in England. I picked the egg up out of the cup and whacked it on the surface of the table, assuming it was a hard boiled egg. It was an amusing mess 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![YoudNeverGuess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a587f6/32.png) [@YoudNeverGuess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YoudNeverGuess)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/331 "2017-07-14T15:05:50Z")
Wow. This thread is a real eye-opener for me. You think it’s a small world and the Western world is basically homogeneous and then this happens. It makes me sad to think of American kids growing up not knowing the joy of a soft-boiled egg. I feel like hopping on the next plane to USA with a suitcase full of egg-cups and a soapbox from which to distribute them and spread the good news. I love soft-boiled eggs. They’re my ‘desert-island’ food i.e. what I would choose if I had to eat the same thing every day for the rest of my life. My gmail avatar is a soft-boiled egg in an egg-cup. 😃 We even have one of these contraptions: [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Egg-Boilers/b?ie=UTF8&node=11713161](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Egg-Boilers/b?ie=UTF8&node=11713161) Perfect eggs, every time 🆒 Do it. You know you want to. ---
**Author:** ![Plumpudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Plumpudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumpudding)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/332 "2017-07-14T16:05:15Z")
There seems to be some confusion about how elaborate _some_ people make eating soft-boiled eggs and how elaborate it \*needs \*to be. Prick a hole on the round end of the egg, boil water (I find it easier to time), spoon in eggs, when done, dump water and put pot in the sink and let cold water run, take eggs out, put in a shot glass (or whatever, I’ve used a napkin before), crack shell on top (or bottom) and peel (less to clean afterwards), sprinkle some salt and consume with a normal teaspoon in about three bites and done. It takes me about ten minutes to prepare and eat three eggs. You don’t need an eggcup. I’ve never even heard of a special egg spoon or special serrated egg knife. Soft-boiled eggs tastes nothing like other eggs. Comparing them to fried eggs is completely missing the point. Both ways are good, btw, only different. The only egg I can’t stand is fried hard, both sides. I also have some horrible memories of eating soft-boiled seagull eggs, but I’m open to trying them out again. My only real problem with soft-boiled eggs as breakfast, is that I can apparently consume truckloads of them. I never manage to fill up. I have the same problem with scrambled. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/333 "2017-07-14T16:39:42Z")
> [@Plumpudding](#): > > Soft-boiled eggs tastes nothing like other eggs. Agreed. **visceral shudder** > [@](#): > > The only egg I can’t stand is fried hard, both sides. Which is of course the best way to cook an egg. You may be on to something here though: they’re diametrical opposites in terms of egg-taste. I suspect folks who like one strongly tend not to care for the other. Would we meet in the middle over scrambled eggs? (Or do you prefer those undercooked and gooey while I’d want mine cooked until dry and crumbly?) ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/334 "2017-07-14T16:44:39Z")
A soft-boiled egg lacks commitment. ---
**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, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/335 "2017-07-14T17:01:58Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Do you know how to kill bacteria? Boiling water. What’s the only thing that ever comes out of a kettle? Boiling water. > > Really, it’s probably the cleanest utensil in the kitchen, despite the (harmless) deposits of limescale that can build up in hard water areas. Maybe it’s perception or a different understanding of “clean.” But whenever I see them, they seem to have a film (not hard water, something else) and/or small bits of visible stuff seems to come out of them. Perhaps that’s just part of the British hot water experience. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/336 "2017-07-14T17:06:12Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > Maybe it’s perception or a different understanding of “clean.” But whenever I see them, they seem to have a film (not hard water, something else) and/or small bits of visible stuff seems to come out of them. > Perhaps that’s just part of the British hot water experience. Perhaps someone has attempted to make soup in the ones you’ve seen? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/337 "2017-07-14T17:09:54Z")
I used to eat them when I was young, with toast cut into ‘sodiers’ for dipping in the yolk. We had egg cups too. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/338 "2017-07-14T17:22:25Z")
> [@Plumpudding](#): > > There seems to be some confusion about how elaborate _some_ people make eating soft-boiled eggs and how elaborate it \*needs \*to be. > > Prick a hole on the round end of the egg, boil water (I find it easier to time), spoon in eggs, when done, dump water and put pot in the sink and let cold water run, take eggs out, put in a shot glass (or whatever, I’ve used a napkin before), crack shell on top (or bottom) and peel (less to clean afterwards), sprinkle some salt and consume with a normal teaspoon in about three bites and done. It takes me about ten minutes to prepare and eat three eggs. What’s this about pricking the egg? Even that seems like an extra layer of fuss that’s unnecessary. I’ve never done that, and I’ve had no issues. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/339 "2017-07-14T17:29:57Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > What’s this about pricking the egg? Even that seems like an extra layer of fuss that’s unnecessary. I’ve never done that, and I’ve had no issues. I think the theory is to keep the egg from cracking while it boils from air pressure inside the egg, so you prick it beforehand. But I don’t know if that really holds water. ---
**Author:** ![Plumpudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Plumpudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumpudding)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/340 "2017-07-14T17:36:06Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Agreed. **visceral shudder** > > Which is of course the best way to cook an egg. > > You may be on to something here though: they’re diametrical opposites in terms of egg-taste. I suspect folks who like one strongly tend not to care for the other. > > Would we meet in the middle over scrambled eggs? (Or do you prefer those undercooked and gooey while I’d want mine cooked until dry and crumbly?) Moist and mushy for me. Dry and crumbly? Ugh. I’ll cook and eat mine while completely ruining those eggs for you, no problem. @pulykamell: It just makes them easier to peel, that’s it. Takes a short second, no fuss. I don’t think any two persons prepare eggs the same way, no point arguing about it, really. But imagine my reaction when I found out my ex didn’t even time! Biggest fight we ever had! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904.md?page=18)