# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/161 "2017-07-11T22:43:36Z")
I have egg cups. I have teeny tiny spoons. I also have an electric kettle. The egg cups are only good for soft boiled eggs, which I think are disgusting, but which my children and husband like. ---
**Author:** ![infinitii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e8c25b/32.png) [@infinitii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infinitii)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/162 "2017-07-11T23:14:29Z")
> [@Trancephalic](#): > > I only remember seeing egg cups in vintage US cartoons. > > Hatch-22. I’m sorry…did everyone miss this? LOL, good show old chap. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/163 "2017-07-11T23:15:46Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > I doubt it would be quicker, as I’d have to remember, find, and plug in a device that’s off somewhere else instead of just getting a pot. Also, since it’s electric, I probably can’t just toss it in the dishwasher the way I can a pot, I’ll have to hand-wash it which is WAY more effort than a quick rinse before setting it on a rack. I’m not saying you need an electric kettle, but for people who do use them: (1) They’re not off somewhere. They’re always right there on the counter. (2) Wash them? They’re washed when you pour the boiling water out of them. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/164 "2017-07-11T23:16:21Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Yes, I’m American, and I’ve had American biscuits in gravy. They’re okay, but I completely fail to understand the enthusiasm they engender. > > I love an egg breakfast, though. And beans are a nice start to the day, although I don’t seek them out if they aren’t part of the hotel buffet. > > Given a choice between the British egg & bean breakfast and biscuits & gravy, I’ll pick egg & bean 19 times out of 20. (I do like variety.) I find biscuits and gravy to be more of a Southern thing. Also, grits. And chicken and waffles - which I find confusing and I’m American. The non-American breakfast food I love is the way Germans do muesli. Yogurt, fruit, oats - its so yummy. Its not unknown in the U.S., but its uncommon - much like soft boiled eggs or electric kettles. ---
**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 11, 2017, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/165 "2017-07-11T23:21:37Z")
It’s odd how a daft, light-hearted thread can go really. A thing I’ve learned: there’s someone out there who thinks electric kettles - which are only used to boil water- need to go in a dishwasher, and perhaps not uncoincidentally thinks that British people make soup in them. It’s been a voyage of discovery, I can tell you. ---
**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 11, 2017, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/166 "2017-07-11T23:22:14Z")
I vaguely remember seeing them when I saw the picture, but have never had one. I view having the yolk runny as a flaw, that maybe can be tolerated if it’s more gel-like, but I’d rather have it hard. That goes for any way of cooking eggs. I also agree that, if you’re eating hard-boiled eggs mashed, it’s no different than poached. Or, at least, microwave poached. That became my go-to way to make that meal quickly. The issue was actually figuring out the right timing so they wouldn’t be soft-poached. ---
**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 11, 2017, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/167 "2017-07-11T23:24:18Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > The non-American breakfast food I love is the way Germans do muesli. Yogurt, fruit, oats - its so yummy. I have that, or peanut butter on toast, waaaaay more often than eggs for breakfast (or supper, come to think of it) ---
**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 11, 2017, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/168 "2017-07-11T23:30:46Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > I don’t make cups of soup, and if I did I would rather just microwave a cup of soup than have to clean soup out of a device late at night. He’s talking about “Cup O’ Soup” packets, or those ramen bowls and things like that. Nobody actually cooks soup in an electric kettle. My parents do have an electric kettle. It really is a great device, but I don’t drink enough tea or coffee to make it worth my while to have around. (Instant soup isn’t even an option for me. I am done with those days.) I’m fine with the stovetop kettle. I do recall them being fairly popular during college, though. Lots of students had electric kettles in their dorms to cook up late-night ramen or tea/coffee/hot chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/169 "2017-07-11T23:41:45Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > (1) They’re not off somewhere. They’re always right there on the counter. If I don’t use it at least once a week, it doesn’t stay on the counter. And I’ve already stated that my frequency of needing boiling water is less than once a week. > [@](#): > > (2) Wash them? They’re washed when you pour the boiling water out of them. Have you ever actually poured soup - it doesn’t magically remove itself from the sides of the pot, there’s always some residue. Or is the ‘soup’ people are talking about just ramen and cup-o-noodles and stuff like that, which don’t even qualify as ‘soup’ to me? And what about cooking rice or pasta, which is my main use for boiling water - do you seriously heat the water in a kettle, pour it into a pot, then cook the rice/pasta in the pot? This sounds really bizarre. People trying to convince me that I need a device that is not any better at making tea than my microwave on the rare occasions I drink tea, and that is really good for making ramen noodles which I eat even more rarely, and that I need it so much that I should devote permanent counter space to it so that every month or two it’s there when I need it are… interesting. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/170 "2017-07-11T23:43:50Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > I don’t make cups of soup, and if I did I would rather just microwave a cup of soup than have to clean soup out of a device late at night. > > I really don’t get why people like you refuse to realize that other people don’t live your exact life and have to try an argue that I should blow money on a gimmick kitchen gadget. We’re not all Brits chugging down tea and soup at all hours of the day to the point that boiling water is a routine thing. (a) I’m not a Brit, though I would much rather have been born in the UK instead of Minnesota. (b) Only a complete idiot would try to boil soup in an electric kettle. I was referring to the instant soup you dump into a cup and add boiling water to. You don’t boil anything in an electric kettle except water. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/171 "2017-07-11T23:47:08Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > And what about cooking rice or pasta, which is my main use for boiling water - do you seriously heat the water in a kettle, pour it into a pot, then cook the rice/pasta in the pot? This sounds really bizarre. It boils the water more quickly and efficiently than on the stovetop. Pour the water over the pasta and then put the pot on top of the stove to finish cooking. **DUH!** :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/172 "2017-07-11T23:50:41Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > If they are way too much work and trouble for a quick breakfast, and not elaborate enough for a full one, what can the poor benighted souls who cook and eat them be thinking? That they’re not me and so my standards don’t apply to them. I haven’t said that other people shouldn’t eat them, or expressed incredulity towards them, what I find hilarious is the people insisting that soft-boiled eggs are great and that the vast majority of Americans are crazy for not only not eating them but not owning special cups for eating them. > [@](#): > > There’s a general point that you shouldn’t have too many one-use items in your kitchen, but no-one blinks at the following, at least one of which it is quite likely you own: All of those are for broad categories of food that are commonly eaten, not one specific preparation of one very specific item (soft-boiled chicken eggs). Having knives that cut bread well is not the same thing as having a small special cup for one specific preparation of eggs. Also my coffee cups get used for tea, eggs, and cakes in addition to coffee, so that’s not really a great example. (Oh, and you don’t need special serrated knives for eggs. That would be weird. [/quote] I’m just going by what people say in this thread, that there’s an egg knife that goes with the egg cup. Since I’m not a member of the soft-boiled-egg-equipment-culture I don’t know what the normal paraphanelia is. ---
**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 11, 2017, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/173 "2017-07-11T23:55:22Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > That they’re not me and so my standards don’t apply to them. I haven’t said that other people shouldn’t eat them, or expressed incredulity towards them, what I find hilarious is the people insisting that soft-boiled eggs are great and that the vast majority of Americans are crazy for not only not eating them but not owning special cups for eating them. I’m convinced the British national pastime has become “criticize everything Americans do.” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/174 "2017-07-11T23:59:06Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > I’m convinced the British national pastime has become “criticize everything Americans do.” You’d probably be amazed at how many others do it too. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/175 "2017-07-12T00:32:51Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > If I don’t use it at least once a week, it doesn’t stay on the counter. And I’ve already stated that my frequency of needing boiling water is less than once a week. I already prefaced my comment with “For people who use kettles.” If you don’t use them, it doesn’t apply to you. Why do I get the feeling that you think someone here is trying to force you to buy an electric kettle? > [@](#): > > Have you ever actually poured soup - it doesn’t magically remove itself from the sides of the pot, there’s always some residue. Or is the ‘soup’ people are talking about just ramen and cup-o-noodles and stuff like that, which don’t even qualify as ‘soup’ to me? The only thing an electric kettle ever does is boil water. That’s it. The reference to soup was about instant soups. I don’t know why you need to specify that they “don’t even qualify as ‘soup’” to you. That seems unnecessarily hostile in a thread about breakfast. > [@](#): > > And what about cooking rice or pasta, which is my main use for boiling water - do you seriously heat the water in a kettle, pour it into a pot, then cook the rice/pasta in the pot? This sounds really bizarre. Yes, you boil the water in the kettle and pour it into the pot. The reason it’s not bizarre is that an electric kettle will boil a gallon of water in a fraction of the time that it takes to boil water in a pot on a stove. The kettle is a time-saving device. It’s also better than a microwave for several other reasons _for people who frequently need to boil water quickly_. If that’s not you, that’s not you. If you really need to know why, folks can list the reasons, but I’ll avoid that, because I get the feeling you will think I’m trying to force you to stop boiling water in the microwave. > [@](#): > > People trying to convince me that I need a device … Seriously, who is doing that? Can you quote someone here who says _you **must** _ get an electric kettle. > [@](#): > > … are… interesting. No, it’s this strange hostility that is “… interesting.” There are several people in this thread listing the advantages of eating soft-boiled eggs from egg cups. I don’t agree with them—I just scoop my soft-boiled egg from the shell into a small bowl, stir it up and dip whole pieces of toast into them. I don’t want to have to deal with the little tasks associated with egg cups—like fiddling with cutting a cap off and using a tiny spoon to scoop out tiny bits of egg without breaking the shell further, or cutting toast into little strips, or washing tiny egg cups. But I am not chiding people for trying force me to use egg cups. Who’s doing that here? ---
**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 12, 2017, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/176 "2017-07-12T00:38:00Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > It boils the water more quickly and efficiently than on the stovetop. Pour the water over the pasta and then put the pot on top of the stove to finish cooking. **DUH!** :smack: Wait. I can’t tell if you’re being serious or not. Do people actually do this? Besides, don’t you usually start your rice with cold water? (ETA: Huh. Reading the reply above my post, it does seem people do this. I had no idea. I’ve never seen them used that way.) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/177 "2017-07-12T00:44:47Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > If they are way too much work and trouble for a quick breakfast, and not elaborate enough for a full one, what can the poor benighted souls who cook and eat them be thinking? It’s lunacy! Frankly, it makes you wonder why people don’t live exactly like you do, doesn’t it? Seriously, why all the hostility just from someone else expressing his or her preferences? > [@](#): > > Special glasses just for wine; Before I got married, if I served wine, I served it in juice glasses or mugs. > [@](#): > > Special cups just for coffee; I use my mugs for coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and any other beverage that I want to drink in a small amount. They’re basically interchangeable with juice glasses or small water glasses. > [@](#): > > Special serrated knives just for steak; They cut any tough food, particularly meats. > [@](#): > > Special serrated knives just for bread; Well, okay, if you’re going to slice bread instead of tearing it (which I sometimes do), you do need a long, straight serrated knife for it. So there’s one. > [@](#): > > Special spoons just for soup. I don’t have any of those. I eat my soup with the regular spoons that come in the cutlery set. > [@](#): > > (Oh, and you don’t need special serrated knives for eggs. That would be weird. I think that was just the result of a misunderstanding in this thread. > [@](#): > > And egg cups are not a Veblen good. They’re really, really not.) I don’t think anyone said they were, did they? Maybe I missed it. But I love eating soft-boiled eggs and I don’t use egg cups. For me, they make eating soft-boiled eggs more difficult and create additional chores. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/178 "2017-07-12T00:47:23Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Wait. I can’t tell if you’re being serious or not. Do people actually do this? Besides, don’t you usually start your rice with cold water? > > (ETA: Huh. Reading the reply above my post, it does seem people do this. I had no idea. I’ve never seen them used that way.) Yes, I start my rice with cold water, so I don’t use the electric kettle for rice. But, yes, definitely for spaghetti, etc., I boil water in the kettle first. It significantly cuts down on preparation time. I don’t pour it into a cold pot, though. That’s dangerous. I put a tiny bit of water in the bottom of the pot, set it on the heat, and let it come to a boil while the kettle boils the rest of the water. They generally are both boiling by about the same time. So I pour boiling water into boiling water. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/179 "2017-07-12T01:07:57Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Yes, I’m American, and I’ve had American biscuits in gravy. They’re okay, but I completely fail to understand the enthusiasm they engender. > > I love an egg breakfast, though. And beans are a nice start to the day, although I don’t seek them out if they aren’t part of the hotel buffet. > > Given a choice between the British egg & bean breakfast and biscuits & gravy, I’ll pick egg & bean 19 times out of 20. (I do like variety.) Hell, why choose? One of my favorite weekend brunch places makes a version of eggs benedict that uses biscuits and gravy instead of English muffin and hollandaise. It’s great. Egg and bean is good too. Nothing wrong with that. But a well-made biscuit really is great stuff. I would never take the time to make one at home, though. That’s crazy talk. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904/180 "2017-07-12T01:20:46Z")
EBCB is a standard breakfast around Casa Silenus. Nothing wrong with that at all. But the eggs have to be fried **hard**. As in “there had better not be a hint of fluidity about the yolk or heads will roll. I mean it!” hard. I even serve it with proper back bacon instead of the usual American kind. I’d do biscuits & gravy more often but my doctor keeps making these “tsk, tsk” noises… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-and-egg-cups/790904.md?page=10)