Soft Boiled Eggs

As I was trying to wind down last night and go to sleep, for some reason I began thinking about soft boiled eggs.  Now I have no idea why that came to mind but it was interesting to remember some humorous events associated with soft boiled eggs.....

Remembering that I am European - eating something as simple as a soft boiled egg can not be a simple process.  First there is the egg cup, of which there are two varieties - single and double.  The single is pretty simple - end of egg goes in opening.  The double is not as believed to either eat the egg from shell by inserting in the small bowl and the large bowl for cracking the egg and extracting contents into the bowl.  No, the large end is where you put your second egg to keep warm while you eat the first one inserted in the small bowl.  Except, which end of the egg goes into the small bowl? 

Well, there are two schools of thought - narrow and wide.  You actually have to look and see if anyone else is having soft boiled eggs and which end they are using to eat the egg from.  It would never do to offend someone else's sense of propriety by eating from the opposite end!  Always good to arrive early to breakfast so you can eat your egg the way you like it (from the wide end!) and force everyone else to eat from the wide end as well!

Next, we have the tiny little spoon you are to eat your egg with - and no, you do not crack the shell with the backside of the little spoon - how uncultured!  You gently tap the area to peel the shell way from with the side of your knife.

And then you have the egg to consider.  Those whom are egg connoisseurs will tell you that a three minute egg is perfect.  Yeah, if you like runny white near the yolk.  Of course, a five minute egg is well on its way to being hard boiled, not acceptable at all.  I like a three minute egg not plunged into cold water to hold the cooked point, but rather let it continue to cook from residual heat until eaten.

The last time I ordered a soft boiled egg was when I was on a trip to Detroit (what a disaster that one was!).  I was the only one in the restaurant that morning and so could hear the argument my order brought from the kitchen - how long do you fry an egg to make it soft boiled?  I almost chocked on my grapefruit juice I was laughing so hard.  The manager told me later he fired the two of them before the lunch service began.....

Didn't know such a simple subject could be so convoluted, did you?