# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/21 "2017-07-10T11:26:24Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > One of life’s simple pleasures is dipping buttered toast - cut into strips, and known as “soldiers” - into a soft-boiled egg. > > I guess the US doesn’t need egg-timers then? Soft-boiled eggs are the devil’s works. And you don’t need egg-timers to make them, you just need my mother trying to make hard-boiled eggs… ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/22 "2017-07-10T11:41:26Z")
Ours were wooden, and made on a lathe. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/23 "2017-07-10T11:41:59Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > What’s an egg cup? Stupid. Just dump the egg on a piece of toast, where it belongs. Who the hell wants to spend all morning delicately banging on egg shells with a dumb tiny utensil? (My grandma used to serve soft boiled eggs in those little moronic cups. Drove me fucking nuts.) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/24 "2017-07-10T11:43:01Z")
I never would’ve guessed egg cups would be so controversial. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/25 "2017-07-10T11:52:57Z")
I have a couple of egg cups and use them for ~5-minute eggs 3 or 4 times a year, usually in winter when piping-hot egg seems most appealing. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/26 "2017-07-10T12:11:51Z")
One of life’s simple pleasures on the weekend is toasting up a couple of hash browns, timed to come out with a fried egg. Dip the pieces of hash brown in the yolk and enjoy. No egg cups or monocles required. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/27 "2017-07-10T12:15:49Z")
My favorite book as a really young kid had eggcups in one of the illustrations. I didn’t know it was a real thing. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/28 "2017-07-10T12:56:22Z")
When I was a kid, we sometimes had soft-boiled eggs, and ate them from an egg cup. Totally American. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/29 "2017-07-10T13:15:01Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > It seems that a special cup, a special serrated knife and a special spoon were necessary, each designed and manufactured for that unique purpose, simply because the thing hadn’t been left in the hot water long enough. You don’t _have_ to have a special cup. My dad has used his wedding ring in a pinch. You definitely don’t need a special knife, I’ve always just used an ordinary non-serrated knife. And you don’t need a special spoon either. Soft-boiled eggs are just better than hard boiled. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/30 "2017-07-10T13:17:31Z")
I not only am American, but I have had soft-boiled eggs while growing up, and own egg cups nowadays. When I was a kid my mom would occasionally make them for me; like others have said, just peel 'em and dump in a bowl or on a piece of toast. When I grew up I realized that egg cups exist, and I bought a couple. That said, I very, very rarely eat soft-boiled eggs. If I want that kind of egg texture, I typically poach them. Of course, now I want a soft-boiled egg! ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/31 "2017-07-10T13:25:25Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Soft-boiled eggs are just better than hard boiled. Soft-boiled eggs shouldn’t be compared to hard-boiled eggs, as IMHO they are a different category of food. Instead, they should be compared to other runny-yolk eggs, like fried eggs (“sunny-side-up”). ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/32 "2017-07-10T13:26:24Z")
> [@naita](#): > > You don’t _have_ to have a special cup. My dad has used his wedding ring in a pinch. You definitely don’t need a special knife, I’ve always just used an ordinary non-serrated knife. > And you don’t need a special spoon either. > > Soft-boiled eggs are just better than hard boiled. I didn’t use any knife. I used a small spoon both to open the top end of the egg, and also to eat the egg once it was open. It wasn’t a special spoon, just a small one. A rather enjoyed the slightly fussy process, including carefully scraping all the white away from the shell. Hmm, maybe I should make myself some soft-boiled eggs for lunch. What to hold them with, though… ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/33 "2017-07-10T13:27:07Z")
The usual question is which end of the egg in the cup is up and gets cracked. It is the small end of course. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/34 "2017-07-10T13:38:37Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > When I was a kid, we sometimes had soft-boiled eggs, and ate them from an egg cup. Totally American. Same here. With that said, I don’t have any egg cups in my house, and it’s been decades since I ate a soft-boiled egg. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/35 "2017-07-10T13:42:12Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I’ve never used an egg cup–_or_ eaten a soft-boiled egg. > [@tim314](#): > > Indeed. I’ve had hard-boiled eggs, deviled eggs, poached eggs, fried eggs over easy and sunny-side up, scrambled eggs, omelets, and probably a few other ways I’m forgetting… but I don’t believe I’ve ever had a soft boiled egg, or eaten an egg from a cup. I’ve eaten a soft-boiled egg that was in an egg cup. In England. Here? Never. ---
**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 10, 2017, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/36 "2017-07-10T13:44:29Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Lighten up, this isn’t a serious thread. Good sir, as a representative of the AADTTBW\* I can assure we take matters such as this quite serious! (Slaps B. Greenback’s cheek with my glove) \*Americans Against Doing Things The British Way ---
**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 10, 2017, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/37 "2017-07-10T13:46:41Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The usual question is which end of the egg in the cup is up and gets cracked. It is the small end of course. You realise, I trust, that this means [war](https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=t-rX3aelL0kC&pg=PA28&lpg=PA28&dq=swift+war+egg+gulliver&source=bl&ots=-t9VFp2NR2&sig=Q58ypJLwzlttgHadQOhcs2fWgro&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjy24DD7P7UAhUC7hoKHcQLBGAQ6AEIXTAJ#v=onepage&q=swift%20war%20egg%20gulliver&f=false). ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/38 "2017-07-10T13:49:47Z")
I have a couple of sets of egg cups and I’m American. However, I got introduced to soft-boiled eggs by my Scottish/Canadian grandmother. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/39 "2017-07-10T13:54:53Z")
> [@cher3](#): > > I have a couple of sets of egg cups and I’m American. Ironically, I have a set of egg cups. Somewhere. Still in the package. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/40 "2017-07-10T13:55:07Z")
Never had or seen one in real life. I guess you could order it at a local dinner, but I bet it’s rare. Would think that you get the same results just sunny side up or over easy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904.md?page=3)