# 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:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [May 13, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/41 "2009-05-13T15:47:12Z")
I have been in cafeterias where if you say “over easy,” when they repeat the order back to you they say “over medium.” Consistently. I don’t know why they did this, but the eggs I got seemed to be over easy, so I don’t know what the deal was. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/42 "2009-05-13T15:54:45Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > I’ve never even heard anyone else \*order \*over medium. Waitress look at me as if I’d ordered fried eagle eggs. Never had anyone skip a beat when I order eggs that way. It just means that the whites are completely cooked, while the yolk is warm, thick & runny. Pretty standard order. ---
**Author:** ![Chopper9760](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Chopper9760](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chopper9760)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/43 "2009-05-13T16:00:47Z")
> [@Vihaga](#): > > If there’s no toast, you dip the bacon in the yolk. If there’s no bacon, you dip the rest of the egg in it. If there’s no rest of egg, you lick the plate like an animal and think about prehistoric mammals sucking sun-warmed yolks out of eggs. > Or maybe that’s just me. _licks chops_ You’re not alone. My father and I have long bemoaned the fact that many kinds of eggs come in milk cartons but no one has made a mircowavable carton of straight egg yolk. I don’t understand folks who really like egg whites. The white part is akin to Styrofoam packing peanuts, it’s there to insulate and cushion the chick. Do you white-lovers eat packing peanuts? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/44 "2009-05-13T16:03:28Z")
> [@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). You disappoint me sir, hopefully for just the one time. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/45 "2009-05-13T16:07:52Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I have been in cafeterias where if you say “over easy,” when they repeat the order back to you they say “over medium.” Consistently. I don’t know why they did this, but the eggs I got seemed to be over easy, so I don’t know what the deal was. Because many restaurants are very cautious about undercooking foods, to the point of instructing waitstaff not to use words like “rare” or “over easy”, which imply undercooked food. Some restaurants will actually give a verbal warning to patrons who order things like rare burger in order to relieve themselves of liability for food poisoning. I’ve been in places where you can’t order an egg with a runny yolk, which is carrying things WAY too far, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/46 "2009-05-13T16:15:40Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Because many restaurants are very cautious about undercooking foods, to the point of instructing waitstaff not to use words like “rare” or “over easy”, which imply undercooked food. Some restaurants will actually give a verbal warning to patrons who order things like rare burger in order to relieve themselves of liability for food poisoning. I’ve been in places where you can’t order an egg with a runny yolk, which is carrying things WAY too far, IMO. Absolutely. Thankfully, I’m seeing less of this in my part of the world these days. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/47 "2009-05-13T16:38:47Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Because many restaurants are very cautious about undercooking foods, to the point of instructing waitstaff not to use words like “rare” or “over easy”, which imply undercooked food. Some restaurants will actually give a verbal warning to patrons who order things like rare burger in order to relieve themselves of liability for food poisoning. I’ve been in places where you can’t order an egg with a runny yolk, which is carrying things WAY too far, IMO. When I am Ruler of the Universe, those kinds of places will be shut down and their owners condemned to a lifetime of trying to admissiter medication to cats. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/48 "2009-05-13T16:44:19Z")
> [@Chopper9760](#): > > … > I don’t understand folks who really like egg whites. The white part is akin to Styrofoam packing peanuts, it’s there to insulate and cushion the chick. Do you white-lovers eat packing peanuts? Only the ones made of biodegradable materials, like popcorn. Okay, not really. Well, just the one time I tasted one. It smelled like popcorn! I had to try it. ---
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/49 "2009-05-13T16:45:15Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > I’ve never even heard anyone else \*order \*over medium. Waitress look at me as if I’d ordered fried eagle eggs. I’ve gotten into the habit of ordering “over medium” because if you order “over easy” in a restaurant, you end up with a half-cooked, yucky egg. When it comes to beef, I err on the side of “rare”; with eggs, I’d rather they err the other way. But runny yolks are wonderful. I do the whole toast-dipping thing, and dip whatever breakfast meat I’ve chosen as well. If you’re going to have your yolk hard, you might as well order scrambled. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/50 "2009-05-13T16:50:05Z")
If they actually cared, they would stock [pasteurized eggs](http://www.safeeggs.com/). You can drink those raw, [Rocky style](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRmT2Fzk-bs&feature=related#t=1m17s), all day long. Instead, they’re just covering their asses, lawyer-style. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/51 "2009-05-13T17:18:21Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Eww, you people eat the yolk? I dump it in the trash along with the shell. Me too. Plus I throw out the egg white as well. But seriously, I like both hard and runny yolks. I cook them hard (or mostly hard) if I’m having a sandwich, but let 'em run if I’m eating them other times. ---
**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 13, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217/52 "2009-05-13T17:29:08Z")
> [@Chopper9760](#): > > I don’t understand folks who really like egg whites. The white part is akin to Styrofoam packing peanuts, it’s there to insulate and cushion the chick. Do you white-lovers eat packing peanuts? Egg white is like tofu–a mild flavor by itself, so it’s a canvas for painting other tastes on top of. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runny-yolks-whats-the-attraction/496217.md?page=2)