# Runny yolks, what's the attraction? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 12, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217 "2009-05-12T21:13:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ice\_Cream\_Conquest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e480ec/32.png) [@Ice\_Cream\_Conquest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Cream_Conquest)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/1 "2009-05-12T21:13:07Z")
I didn’t want to hijack the Eggs Benedict thread, so I’m posting this here. I like food. I like trying new foods, trying to appreciate new flavors and textures. If somebody tells me something is good, then I’m happy to give it a try. Frequently I find I like it too. But I just don’t get runny yolks. I’ve tried them many times. I’ve been told to consider it a sauce, but it’s a pretty one-dimensional sauce, if so. I don’t find the texture appealing and the flavor’s nothing special. It’s not a raw food issue. I like rare steak, raw fish in my sushi, and was fine eating carpaccio. I just don’t get the runny yolk love. What’s the appeal? For the record, I’ll take my eggs scrambled, fluffy and just set. ---
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/2 "2009-05-12T21:15:09Z")
Oh man, taking a piece of toast or fresh biscuit and dabbing up all that hot runny yellow goodness… It almost can’t be beat! ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/3 "2009-05-12T21:16:34Z")
Deliciousness. Sopping it up with toast or hashbrowns is a highlight of a big breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/4 "2009-05-12T21:17:37Z")
> [@DudleyGarrett](#): > > It almost can’t be beat! It can, but the following scrambling ruins it. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/5 "2009-05-12T21:25:12Z")
Dip toast into it, mix it with hash browns, let it soak into an english muffin, liquid yolks are ten times more savory than hard-cooked yolks. It’s the like difference between a medium-rare cut of prime beef and a well-done one. The former’s a treat for the tastebuds, the latter is jumped-up shoe leather. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/6 "2009-05-12T21:26:39Z")
I consider it to be a sauce for the white bits. It is bland to me so I always add pepper. And like the others said the best part when you’ve eaten the eggs but there is still a little bit of yolk on the plate and you sweep it up with a bread product. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/7 "2009-05-12T21:28:59Z")
If I’m just having a plate of bacon and eggs, then I’ll take them scrambled or fried. If there’s somewhere for the yolk to go, however, be it toast or potatoes, then I definitely want them runny. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/8 "2009-05-12T21:43:36Z")
I think it’s something you have to just already enjoy, like broccoli. I’ve never understood the appeal either. The nearly fully cooked eggs in the Eggs Benedict sounds about right to me. ---
**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:** [May 12, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/9 "2009-05-12T21:54:12Z")
Yolks must be solid to be palatable. Runny yolks are a sign of a sluggard or pinch-penny who doesn’t want to take the time or spend the fuel to cook eggs properly (ie done). ---
**Author:** ![akrako1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@akrako1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akrako1)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/10 "2009-05-12T22:10:02Z")
Mmm… egg in a hole… aka eggs in a basket. wouldn’t be the same if there wasn’t some runnyness to wipe up with the crispy removed bread hole… ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/11 "2009-05-12T22:19:14Z")
Not three hours ago I ate a “frisee au lardons” salad. It consisted of frisee endive, crisp bacon bits, a hot vinaigrette, and two poached eggs. One bursts the runny yolk of the egg and lets it mix with the vinaigrette and the endive to form an eggy, tart, crunchy treat. Yum! Yep, got to let the yolks be runny. Scrambled eggs, omelets, and HB eggs are all fine, but a good fresh organic egg has to be over easy or poached. ---
**Author:** ![PeacePlease](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/71c47a/32.png) [@PeacePlease](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeacePlease)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/12 "2009-05-12T22:21:54Z")
Gotta have the runny yolk. My mom used to mush up buttered toast and eggs over easy for us when we were sick. Yum times 10. And Eggs Benedict wouldn’t be the same without the beautiful mixture of yolk plus hollandaise! ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/13 "2009-05-12T22:30:57Z")
runny yolks are great! hard boiled eggs are nice because you can slice them and put them on sandwiches or dice them and put them in salads, or just eat them straight out of your hand with a little salt. Runny eggs (boiled or fried) are terrific on toast or other “dry” food, or poached in spicy tomato / pepper stew with chorizo, or basically anywhere you want the taste to spread a little. And nobody’s even brought up hollandaise sauce yet! Runny egg yolks are great emulsifiers. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/14 "2009-05-12T22:34:49Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Yolks must be solid to be palatable. Runny yolks are a sign of a sluggard or pinch-penny who doesn’t want to take the time or spend the fuel to cook eggs properly (ie done). No. Solid yolks are a sign of a sluggard or penny pincher who does not want to monitor the eggs and pull them when they are correctly cooked. ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/15 "2009-05-12T22:46:04Z")
Not to hijack, but to me, there’s a distinct difference in the taste of the yolk between sunny side up/over easy and over medium, etc. I prefer the latter, and would take a partially-hardened yolk over a too-runny/undercooked one. ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/16 "2009-05-12T22:50:55Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Yolks must be solid to be palatable. Runny yolks are a sign of a sluggard or pinch-penny who doesn’t want to take the time or spend the fuel to cook eggs properly (ie done). No, hard yolks are the sign of a bad or lazy cook with a palate insensitive enough to not notice the distinctly inferior taste and texture of a solid yolk. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/17 "2009-05-12T22:53:22Z")
Mmmmmm. Runny yolks! Hard yolks are dry things that have to be choked down or mixed with something else to moisten them. You have to work to get the whites firm while leaving the yolks runny, but it’s worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/18 "2009-05-12T23:10:00Z")
Eww, you people eat the yolk? I dump it in the trash along with the shell. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/19 "2009-05-12T23:44:57Z")
> [@Ice\_Cream\_Conquest](#): > > The flavor’s nothing special. What’s the appeal? The flavor. It’s subjective, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Zjestika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/8edcca/32.png) [@Zjestika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zjestika)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/20 "2009-05-12T23:54:16Z")
I don’t think you’ll get a satisfying answer to your question. Either runny yolks are wonderfully yummy or ick ick ick, to each his own. To me they are yummy but I don’t know why. Just like 'em, that’s all. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217.md?page=2)