I have a problem with soft boiled eggs.

[BAPyessir6]

I love em. I love the presentation, and dipping soldiers into a runny yolk with a just set white (that's how I like it) makes me feel like a little kid somehow. My problem is when I'm done. I am left with a bunch of egg white stuck to egg shell, and to me it feels kind of wasteful to just only use the "yolk" and trash the white. Am I supposed to cook soft boiled eggs less so the white is runnier so I can dip my toast in it? Or is sacrificing the egg white for soft boiled toast soldiers just par for the course? Is this just what your supposed to do?

 

[blissful]

When I was growing up in Wisconsin, we boiled them until the whites were soft set and the yolk runny. A lot of times they were over or under done, but we still ate them the same way. Dipping toast in the yolks, then when that was gone then eating the white with a spoon, scraping it out of the shell.

edit: about 10 or so years ago, we started making coddled eggs. They are similar in that the yolk is runny, the white is soft set. Dipping toast soldiers can be dipped in it the same way. Here's a long post on coddling eggs in a coddler or a ramekin, good pictures. https://www.christinascucina.com/coddled-eggs-how-to-coddle-eggs-easy-directions/

 

[BAPyessir6]

Ooooh cool! I think I make coddled eggs when I eat sardines. I put garlic, parsley, and hot sauce with sardines in a rammekin, heat it in the oven, then throw eggs on top and cook in the oven until the whites are set with runny yolks. We eat it with toast and more hot sauce/siracha. It's freaking delicious.

 

[blissful]

Yes you can make them however you like. I remember using some cream, shredded cheese, s & p. They are delicious. I'd use cold eggs, then assemble and boil the water, put them in and time them for 8 minutes. Open them to check to see if they were cooked the way we wanted, put them back in if they weren't done enough. Serve them in the coddler. Such a treat!

The coddlers on the left are big enough for 2 eggs (king size), the one on the far right is big enough for 1 egg.
I didn't dust them and haven't used them for too long. I may pass them on to one of my sons.

 

[BAPyessir6]

They're so cute!!!

 

[taxlady]

When I was a kid we didn't dip toast in the eggs. We just ate the boiled eggs with a spoon.

 

[dragnlaw]

Ours were like this but in glass. I could not find an image of our glass ones. Eventually Mom was gifted special scissors to snipped off the top and eat the egg out of the shell. Or if you had 2 eggs you turned it over and open the egg completely and dump into the larger section. Especially if the egg was accidently over cooked a bit, larger side was used and lots of butter added to mash it up with.

Yes, runny yolk was eaten first then the more solid white was scooped out of the shell.

Here's a picture of the scissors.. fancy gold and silver metals.

 

[Badjak]

When I was a kid we didn't dip toast in the eggs. We just ate the boiled eggs with a spoon.

Same here and I still don't dip bread in my soft boiled egg

 

[Aunt Bea]

I always seem to have trouble with bits of shell in my soft boiled eggs and don’t really have a spoon small enough to get inside the shell so I normally make coddled eggs.

I have a couple of Royal Worcester egg coddlers similar to those pictured above and they work well.

If you are patient, they turn up at estate sales, thrift shops, etc…

Until then a teacup or custard cup is fine as a poacher/coddler.

 

[dragnlaw]

Or the plastic wrap way. Perfect example of wasted plastic wrap but it amuses the grand's at least once. They get to choose the add-ins.

Edit:
We didn't dunk our toast either but you learned to be very careful with the spoon so as not to get egg shell. I liked being able to spoon out the rest of the egg white away from the shell at the end.

 

[medtran49]

If you have a sous vide, you can cook eggs to exactly the temperature/doneness you want. They only cook to the temperature you set, no more.

 

[Silversage]

Egg white stuck to the shell usually indicates a very fresh egg. Age your eggs a bit if you are going to cook them in the shells, either hard or soft boiled.

 

[BAPyessir6]

View attachment 71236 Ours were like this but in glass. I could not find an image of our glass ones. Eventually Mom was gifted special scissors to snipped off the top and eat the egg out of the shell. Or if you had 2 eggs you turned it over and open the egg completely and dump into the larger section. Especially if the egg was accidently over cooked a bit, larger side was used and lots of butter added to mash it up with.

Yes, runny yolk was eaten first then the more solid white was scooped out of the shell.

Here's a picture of the scissors.. fancy gold and silver metals.
View attachment 71237

Dang those scissors are not only beautiful, but also they seem way more practical than trying to use a DANG knife. Are they, or similar, purchasable anywhere?

 

[dcSaute]

I've eaten a lot of soft boiled eggs, fixed about everyway one can think of . . .
for 'in an egg cup' I've used a spoon to crack, a table knife, etc etc . . . and then this gadget which works better than anything else I've ever seen/used - it's spring loaded, the bottom "cup" goes on the small end of the egg, you pull the top knob up and release. the bottom cup has a very sharp edge which 'cuts' the shell cleanly and the top comes off, no prob...

Amazon.com

 

[Aunt Bea]

This thread reminded me of mollet eggs.

They are a bit touchy to peel without breaking but they make a nice presentation.

Jacques Pepin did a show where a mollet egg was gently placed in a bowl of tomato soup. They can also be used to top a simple salad or with cooked asparagus, greens, etc…

Mollet, which means “soft” in French, refers to eggs that are cooked in water in the shells for a longer period of time than soft-cooked eggs, but not as long as hard-cooked eggs — about 6 minutes total. The yolks are creamy and the whites less watery than in soft-cooked eggs. Then the eggs are shelled, leaving their shape intact.

Tomato Chowder With Mollet Eggs | Essential Pepin

This basic tomato soup, topped with the eggs and large croutons made from country-style bread, can be made vegetarian by replacing the chicken stock with vegetable stock or water.

ww2.kqed.org

Mollet Eggs Florentine | Essential Pepin

Mollet, which means "soft" in French, refers to eggs that are cooked in water in the shells for a longer period of time than soft-cooked eggs, but not as long as hard-cooked eggs -- about 6 minutes total.

ww2.kqed.org

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Easy peezy lemon squeezy. Dip 'soldiers' in the yolk until it's all soaked up. Then slip a teaspoon between the white and the shell, run it all around the circumference, gently lift the white out of the shell and shove the whole thing into your mouth. Now finish off your toast.

 

[BAPyessir6]

This thread reminded me of mollet eggs.

They are a bit touchy to peel without breaking but they make a nice presentation.

Jacques Pepin did a show where a mollet egg was gently placed in a bowl of tomato soup. They can also be used to top a simple salad or with cooked asparagus, greens, etc…

Mollet, which means “soft” in French, refers to eggs that are cooked in water in the shells for a longer period of time than soft-cooked eggs, but not as long as hard-cooked eggs — about 6 minutes total. The yolks are creamy and the whites less watery than in soft-cooked eggs. Then the eggs are shelled, leaving their shape intact.

Tomato Chowder With Mollet Eggs | Essential Pepin

This basic tomato soup, topped with the eggs and large croutons made from country-style bread, can be made vegetarian by replacing the chicken stock with vegetable stock or water.

ww2.kqed.org

Mollet Eggs Florentine | Essential Pepin

Mollet, which means "soft" in French, refers to eggs that are cooked in water in the shells for a longer period of time than soft-cooked eggs, but not as long as hard-cooked eggs -- about 6 minutes total.

ww2.kqed.org

Is it a similar consistency as ramen or "jammy" eggs?

 

[dragnlaw]

I very much disliked egg whites that did not have some firmness to them. Runny whites were not eaten then nor even now, at least not by me. Don't know how mum managed to do it perfectly. And don't remember too many yolks being harder but it did happen on occasion... at which point out came the butter.