My perfect egg is soft boiled, but runnier than yours Sara. I like the white set, but the yolk still very runny. (I use Delia's method of boiling an egg). And the perfect pairing is a riff on Eggs and Soldiers -- very thin rye bread spread with sweet cultured butter and cut into rectangular soldiers for dipping.

Mind you, softly scrambled eggs (again, Delia's method -- the woman taught me to do eggs!) run a close second.

Mmm, but then again there is that perfect supper I had once in Barcelona, at a neighbourhood restaurant --- cubed potato browned in olive oil (but deliciously soft on the inside) served with a fried egg on top, the yolk perfectly runny, and the edges crisp. All served with a glass of local red wine. Heaven....

I am thrilled to share this tip posted on UTube where a gal from China broke an egg over a plate... took a plastic water bottle (smallish), squeezed the air from the bottle and placed the opening over the egg yoke... the yoke quickly moved up into the bottle without breaking!!! This is a great tip.
Eggs are terriffic sources of protein and the whites have the most taste without all the cholesterol!
It really works, too!!!
Jo Sanders

I am all about the soft boiled egg and have been since I was a kid. I had a doctor who I referred to as the "witch doctor" who said if I ate a soft boiled egg and chicken soup for a week it would cure my Bronchitis. It did. Now when I feel it coming on I start up with the same process. No meds ... just good ole fashioned soft boiled eggs. We actually did an entire series on the Perfect Egg http://chezus.com/2009/04/13/the-incredible-edible-egg-how-to-soft-boil-an-egg-perfectly/

I love eggs in pretty much any form, but my favorite is just a simple fried egg, cooked until bubbles start to peak through the white then flipped for 30 seconds or less. The white is cooked through, but the yolk is still wonderfully runny. We call them "dippy eggs."

That is a good looking egg..

Maybe it's just me (congenital heart condition) but isn't anyone else concerned about a one egg a day diet given that a single egg yolk can contain anywhere from 215 to 275 mg of dietary cholesterol and the American Heart Association has pegged the recommended daily limit at 200 mg.

If not for that, I would be all over that egg (lovely image as always).

Could you post up some recipes for quail eggs?

re: Joe Black's comment. Unless you already have an identified cholesterol problem, dietary cholesterol is non-contributory - i.e., it will not cause one.

I share your concern, Joe Black. For many of us, egg yolk (cholesterol) is an insidious poison. My dad was dead at 38, from cholesterol-induced heart problems. Diagnosed with the same problems at age 21, I swore off eggs, dairy and animal fats for life. There were no substitutes back then. Now at 74, I am allowing myself 2 eggs a week - Sunday bkfst. Wonderful! I'm probably not eating them with impugnity - but hell - I'm old!

@Jo Sanders: "...the whites have the most taste"

I must beg to differ. I made some ice cream a couple of weeks ago, and rather than throw out the whites, I scrambled them up and ate them. Or rather, I ate a few mouthfuls, and tossed the rest in the trash. Even Rooster Sauce didn't help!

As to soft-boiled eggs, the only time I've eaten them was on a trip to Germany, many years ago. I enjoy them, but prefer a poached egg on an English muffin. Yum.

Sara this post is so timely..as we are in the middle of remodeling the kitchen..you know Alec is completely useless in the kitchen..but the only thing he cooks are the soft boiled eggs..in the nearly 30 years that we have been together..I screw em up every time..I don't like them so he cooks them for himself and the girls..and now that we have 5 chickens..they taste amazing..cooked any style!! Next time you are in town you should pop over and see the kitchen..I am soooooo excited!! 18 years and finally a kitchen!! ahhhh!! Take care and see ya soon..loved the pic of you and your dad on vaca!! Hilarious!
xoxokim & gang

I love soft boiled eggs (and poached ones too). I know, for health reasons, the yolk is the worst part of the egg, but it's the only part that has any taste. I tend to throw away the white part unless I'm making egg salad sandwiches.

It's poached with a runny yolk for me (over mushrooms fried in butter on toast!) Once a week won't kill me.....and if it does, dang, it'd be worth it!

And oh, you should never let your silverware anywhere near eggs! Even mayo will send them as black as coal in no time at all.

One assumes that one meant ones real silver, my dear ;-)

In my family, they're called pigpen eggs (we're southern, y'all) - the toast strips were stacked around the egg to make a fence.

My doctor says an Eggland egg a day is fine!

I'm going to cross-post my comment from "How to Soft Boil an Egg".
======

I just sous vide my eggs. It takes longer but there's really no other way to achieve 143 Degrees (F) which is the "perfect" texture for eggs on toast. With boiling, a degree off and you'll have the yolk and/or whites still too wet or too set. Another plus- you don't have to worry about over/under cooking, altitude, if the egg is just out of the fridge or not, etc.

Chart for temperature reference: http://www.fitbomb.com/2011/07/lucky-peachs-egg-chart.html

For those who are avoiding eggs because of health reasons, I would say read up on paleo and low carb eating. There are many who believe (and studies that lend credence to it) that eggs are actually quite heart healthy, and that dietary intake of cholesterol is NOT what contributes to elevated cholesterol levels. Your body makes its own cholesterol, independent of intake. It is often a high carbohydrate diet that leads to poor lipid profiles. We may have been mislead all these years by official guidelines.
(Personally, I eat tons of eggs and have excellent cholesterol numbers.)

See these articles for starters:

http://chriskresser.com/three-eggs-a-day-keep-the-doctor-away

http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/how-did-we-come-to-believe-saturated-fat-and-cholesterol-are-bad-for-us

What a lovely, lovely post. I actually got misty reading about your little girl starting kindergarten on the same breakfast mama did all those years ago. Happy first ever day of school, little one!

Nankie, you took the words right out of my mouth. My triglycerides and LDL have dropped drastically over the last year (and HDL has gone up nicely) since I started eating paleo. I didn't have cholesterol problems before, but was at the higher end of the normal range, and I now have phenomenally healthy levels. I eat about 100g of bacon most days, plenty of coconut oil, tons of nice creamy butter, cheese, plenty of red meat (hello, steak with guacamole!), whipping cream in my coffee, and most importantly, eggs (at least two a day, sometimes more). What I don't eat, however, is grain or sugar. Fruits, veg, meat, fish, fats... just real food. Unfortunately for all of us, conventional western dietary guidelines are severely skewed to reflect the needs of big agriculture, not the needs of the human beings eating the stuff.

We call them "fancy eggs" because of the pretty cupholders and my kids love them. However, six minutes is practically hard boiled. We do 4 1/2 minutes with a pierced egg and they are perfect. White is set but the yok is ready for dipping.

I'm a 4 minute egg gal, myself. I like the whites just set, and the yolk runny. Seasoned with a lot of salt and some black pepper, dipped up with toast points.... mmmm.

I'm surprised by all this fear of eggs. here in Australia, we have no problems with eating eggs - yolks and all! i have a couple of eggs (ie omelets) a couple of times a week. Perfect, fast, easy, all in one nutritious food. I'm sure frying them in loads of oil negates their healthiness, and if you're eating an overall-healthy diet, i really don't understand the fear of the egg (and especially the yolk).
i thought i better back myself up (and i AM not employed by the egg industry! i just love eggs!): http://www.eggs.org.au/health-and-nutrition

Sake cups make great egg cups in a pinch! Tried the recipe exactly as stated--the eggs were perfect!

@Wondo -when I was at college, my roomates and I would use shot glasses as egg cups :)

My perfect egg is a tie between a very soft boiled egg with buttered toast soldiers for dipping, or a soft poached egg, on an english muffin and a little old amsterdam cheese underneath. Perhaps even some chutney.

I can't believe Ursula is going to kindergarten already.

Q: when cooking the perfect egg, do you use room temperature eggs to begin?