Sunday, May 03, 2020

I do like eggs.


I do not like the way you slide,
I do not like your soft inside,
I do not like you lots of ways
And I could do for many days
Without eggs.

--Frances's song from Bread and Jam for Frances
by Russell Hoban and Lillian Hoban (Illustrator)
published 1964.


Do you like eggs? I like them, but Frances, the human-like badger girl who sang this song, obviously didn't like them at all. At least not until the end of the much-loved children's book when she gives up the diet of bread and jam and returns to eating lots of different foods, even hard-boiled eggs with salt. Bread and Jam for Frances is a great book that has been appreciated by three generations in our family. Yes, I like the soft inside!

What made me think about Frances and her sliding, oozy egg? I read an article today in the Guardian food section today about their idea of the perfect fried-egg sandwich. No one is pickier or more self-assured than a Guardian food writer in their ongoing how-to-eat series, this one titled "How to eat: a fried egg sandwich" by Tony Naylor, published May 2, 2020.

This article is full of half-serious advice on how to choose bread: must be square and not toasted. Or whether to add condiments, which are "acceptable." Or vegetables -- "the inclusion of any salad items, such as sliced tomato, is symptomatic of a self-loathing that requires psychiatric intervention."

The most didactic advice in the article was about the egg itself:
"The greatest schism in the fried egg community is between the chosen few who flip the egg and fry the yolk until it is verging on solid (over-medium approaching over-hard in US diner lingo) and those heretics and heathens who leave the yolk runny. 
"The soft yolk serve is mystifying. Even if (correctly) you do not cut your sandwich, eventually you will bite into that runny yolk and it will leak, nay spurt and gush forth, if not down your chin and over your fingers then to coagulate on cold porcelain, where it will set like an ugly stain on your psyche – a hideous reminder of your casual waste. The only people who want golden yolk seeping on to plates are food stylists on fried egg sandwich shoots. Unless you are going to suck hideously at your sandwich like a teat, a full, tremulous yolk poised to explode is pointless jeopardy."
I don't mind being called a heretic and a heathen -- after all I'm American! But my own preference is to make a fried egg sandwich with a soft egg, that is, easy-over, and then eat it with a knife and fork, so that the runny part can be sopped up by the bread. I'm surprised that a British writer wouldn't have thought of this! I also like to cut the middle out of a piece of bread and fry the egg inside the hole, but let's not go there.

Fernand Point (1897-1955), a revered French chef, wrote some famous instructions for frying eggs.  His cookbook contains very few recipes that can plausibly be made under the current conditions -- almost all the recipes contain truffles or fois gras or both (like the first recipe below), or require skills that are usual only for a professionally trained chef. But Point's fried egg recipe shows that eggs are simple, and stand on their own.

Point's Recipe: I have tried and quite liked it, though I don't always do it.
I could say more about eggs, which I like in many ways. For one thing, eggs are still available during the current shortages: at least I've been able to get them. They are a very convenient food while we are shut in, a good source of protein. This is especially relevant now that much of the meat supply is being processed by extremely mistreated workers, put in danger of contracting Covid-19 because of pre-existing terrible working conditions in the meat packing industry. I may have more to say about that at another time.

But what I would really like to know, is why do children's authors so often go on about NOT liking eggs?


Blog post copyright © 2020 by mae sander.
Images are from the books I mentioned.


16 comments:

Suzan said...

Eggs are in short supply in southeast Queensland, Australia. This doesn't bother me as I am allergic to yolk. But I do keep eggs as my mother likes them and my chef son would often pop in on his way home from work and cook eggs!

I agree that eggs are a brilliant kitchen staple. I often wish I could have them. They do make a quick and easy meal.

God bless and stay safe.

Angie's Recipes said...

Eggs are good for you and I love them, esp. the yolk :-)

Zhoen said...

My mother poached eggs, and only seasoned them with salt. Or deviled eggs, with decorative paprika. I hated the whites of both, loved the yolks (hard or runny), so I'd choke down the whites so the flavor of the yolks would stay in my mouth.

I ate eggs because they were cheap, and I was poor for so long. When I got to eat better eggs, then eggs fresh from friends with chickens, I began to really love eggs. Fried, mostly, never got the hang of an omelet.

I imagine children have an aversion to undercooked eggs, which can harbor bacteria, as a survival trait. As they often dislike bitter things, and many poisons are bitter alkaloids that are especially dangerous to small bodies. Old eggs get sulfurous, too.

Catalyst said...

I like eggs, too, and the egg sandwich but it is best with a slice of American cheese melted with the egg.

Tandy | Lavender and Lime (http://tandysinclair.com) said...

I'm a heretic and heathen as well. Yolks must be soft and runny. Thankfully we can still get eggs here. I'm looking forward to your post on the meat packing plants.

Sherry's Pickings said...

for me an egg has to be runny! i can't stand those fried eggs that get flipped over and go hard - eek!:) I was thinking of that Frances story too; i saw it quoted somewhere last week but can't remember where or why. i think it was a joke that i didn't get...

Iris Flavia said...

Oh, I sadly don´t know that book! I have to colour the eggs so Hubby takes them to work, otherwise he says he dosn´t like eggs and I´m not even kidding!
Blue this week, or rather turquoise. You never know before they come out!
My last fried egg nearly took off. It had "wings"!
You flip the egg???? The yolk must be soft! Yupp. Run into the bread, German way, also. Here, in this household.
Truffles, YUM, but pig feets make me run! Hubby sometimes get´s the Italian pig foot, ewwww.... I cannot even look at that!

I always liked eggs. In fact, hubby made too many potatoes, so I´ll fry some and add an egg. We call it "Bauernfrühstück", "Farmer´s Breakfeast", saldy without a gherkin this time.

Eggs are great! Healthy, too. Have to ask Bro on if my Nieces like eggs...

Debra Eliotseats said...

You bring up a good point about children's authors and egg-bashing. :) I appreciated your review of The Gaurdian article. I have not had an egg sandwich in forever and will try the fried egg technique here. Take care!

Lowcarb team member said...

Love eggs, always start the day with one or two :)

All the best Jan

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Oh I like eggs too pretty much anyway at all actually except fried hard ..... and do go on anytime about eggs in the hole ... my kids and grandkids loved those and of course we ate them too... and now I just think I must cook that for breakfast tomorrow ! The stuff about meat plants lately has us leaning further and further toward vegetarianism.

A Day in the Life on the Farm said...

Well raising hens, we always have eggs and love them cooked any which way.

Johanna GGG said...

I have never gotten over my childhood hatred of eggs and now my 11 year ols loves cooking eggs for meals and will not let me do it. So I feel it is quite natural for kids book authors to assume kids don't like eggs. Though I am not sure why I dislike them so much - We loved the frances books as a kid and also green eggs and ham - perhaps that is a clue!

gluten Free A_Z Blog said...

Transitioning from vegetarian to vegan two years ago, I had to give up eating eggs- which I did like and ate quite often. They were easy to give up because surprisingly, on an allergy test, I tested allergic to eggs, despite not having any noticeable symptoms. Green Eggs and Ham was always a favorite book when my kids were young.

Beth F said...

We love eggs in this house, and it's one of the things that we can reliably get at the store. Nothing nicer on after a long of work when I don't feel like cooking than to have my husband make an omelet and pour some wine.

Deb in Hawaii said...

Fun post! I loved the Frances books growing up and I am with you on the runny yolk thing--all the better for dipping. ;-)

Marg said...

Fun post! We eat eggs all the time, and I am heathen too, enjoying my eggs somewhat runny and dipping bread in it!