# Will the Egg Yolk Be Unbroken, By and By, Lord, By and by? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 16, 2010, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-egg-yolk-be-unbroken-by-and-by-lord-by-and-by/560859 "2010-11-16T14:58:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ethelbert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@ethelbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ethelbert)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-egg-yolk-be-unbroken-by-and-by-lord-by-and-by/560859/41 "2010-11-17T19:43:22Z")
> [@Cyros](#): > > And, once again, I cannot overemphasis the joy of using chicken broth instead of water. It really adds a richness to the flavor. Mother and Child Reunion? ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-egg-yolk-be-unbroken-by-and-by-lord-by-and-by/560859/42 "2010-11-17T20:22:35Z")
> [@Cyros](#): > > And, once again, I cannot overemphasis the joy of using chicken broth instead of water. It really adds a richness to the flavor. > [@ethelbert](#): > > Mother and Child Reunion? Families really should stay together. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-egg-yolk-be-unbroken-by-and-by-lord-by-and-by/560859/43 "2010-11-17T20:27:58Z")
> [@ethelbert](#): > > Mother and Child Reunion? No, the described method is for basting. For a mother and child reunion, the eggs need to be flipped. That way you can tell your guests that it’s only a motion away. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-egg-yolk-be-unbroken-by-and-by-lord-by-and-by/560859/44 "2010-11-17T20:39:59Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Add just a little bit of water to the pan before you cover them. It’s called basting. Is it really called basting? Sounds more like steaming, or even braising, to me. How high do you have the fire when you cook them like this? And how soon do you lid it? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-egg-yolk-be-unbroken-by-and-by-lord-by-and-by/560859/45 "2010-11-17T21:29:59Z")
No I would not give you broke yolks On this strange and mournful day But the chicken and egg reunion Is only a basting away mmm ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-egg-yolk-be-unbroken-by-and-by-lord-by-and-by/560859/46 "2010-11-17T22:18:58Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Is it really called basting? Sounds more like steaming, or even braising, to me. > > How high do you have the fire when you cook them like this? And how soon do you lid it? [The Perfectly Basted Egg](http://www.cheftalk.com/forum/thread/40749/the-perfectly-basted-egg) is pretty much my method. (Medium high heat if you don’t care to follow the link) ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-egg-yolk-be-unbroken-by-and-by-lord-by-and-by/560859/47 "2010-11-17T23:04:03Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Is it really called basting? Sounds more like steaming, or even braising, to me. It is more accurate to say it’s steaming, but for some reason it’s still called “basting.” It can also be done more literally by running fat or liquid over the top. > [@](#): > > How high do you have the fire when you cook them like this? And how soon do you lid it? You have the heat the same as for cooking eggs any other way. You cover them when the whites around the yolk look done (about the same time you’d flip them). You only need to leave then covered for 20-30 seconds. Just enough to white the yolk. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-egg-yolk-be-unbroken-by-and-by-lord-by-and-by/560859/48 "2010-11-18T03:55:22Z")
> [@Turble](#): > > I learned by flipping a pot holder in the pan. Lots of practice without breaking any eggs. Turble, did you use oil or butter as a lubricant for your practice pot holder? Was it a cloth or silicone one? ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-egg-yolk-be-unbroken-by-and-by-lord-by-and-by/560859/49 "2010-11-18T05:05:19Z")
Just a plain old cloth pot holder in a dry pan. With 15 or 20 minutes of practice you really start to understand what is going on in the process and can perfect your technique. I learned it years ago from an Army cook while I was on KP in an officers’ mess. Got me out of scrubbing pots in the back sink. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-egg-yolk-be-unbroken-by-and-by-lord-by-and-by/560859/50 "2010-11-18T06:02:53Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Slight hijack, but I like it when the yolks break. In fact before they set too much I like to break give them a tiny bit of a scramble, let them set a little more, a little more scramble, and they’re done. This gives them a nice marbling of white and yolk. > > Y’all getting what I’m saying? I had a hell of a time explaining this to both a cook and a sandwich shop owner one morning. And they were just. Not. Getting it. I explained it three times and they still didn’t get it. It finally dawned on the owner, and he said “Ah, sunny side up.” NO! What I got was not only pretty much the opposite of what I wanted, they were quite possibly the most disgusting eggs I’ve ever had. > > Apparently this method of cooking them has no name, no description, and I’m the only person in the universe who can make them that way. That’s an egg for a classic egg sandwich… Egg sandwich in short order. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-egg-yolk-be-unbroken-by-and-by-lord-by-and-by/560859/51 "2010-11-18T14:00:52Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > That’s an egg for a classic egg sandwich… Egg sandwich in short order. Yes! I remember reading about those in some Howard Pease novels, and I think that’s where I got the idea. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-egg-yolk-be-unbroken-by-and-by-lord-by-and-by/560859/52 "2010-11-18T15:50:27Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > That’s an egg for a classic egg sandwich… Egg sandwich in short order. No, an egg for a a classic, short order, fried egg sandwich has the yolks broken and cooked hard, but not further scrambled. **tdn** is talking about a partial scramble, which swirls the egg and yolk, but maintains some separation – a “marbling,” as he calls it. If there’s a word for that, I don’t know what it is (but it wouldn’t surprise me if there was one. Culinary language can be anally precise). ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-egg-yolk-be-unbroken-by-and-by-lord-by-and-by/560859/53 "2010-11-18T16:48:00Z")
I’m a little surprised there isn’t a French word for it already. (How would you say “marbled egg” in French?) ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-egg-yolk-be-unbroken-by-and-by-lord-by-and-by/560859/54 "2010-11-18T16:55:28Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > I’m a little surprised there isn’t a French word for it already. (How would you say “marbled egg” in French?) Un oeuf marbré! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-egg-yolk-be-unbroken-by-and-by-lord-by-and-by/560859.md?page=2)