Happy Egg • Your Complete Guide to Egg Dish Terminology (2024)

Scrambled Eggs

This popular breakfast dish is made by beating egg yolks and whites together and then cooking them in a skillet or pan. Scrambled eggs can be creamy and soft or hard scrambled. Adding butter to the top of cooked scrambled eggs will give you buttered eggs.

Sunny Side Up Eggs

Sunny side up eggs are eggs slow cooked in a frying pan until the egg white is set, but the yolk remains slightly runny. The ‘sunny side’ refers to the intact yellow or orange yolk, which resembles a sun.

Basted Eggs

Basted eggs are similar to sunny side up eggs, but basted eggs are cooked on top by spooning warm butter or oil over the top of the yolk.

Poached Eggs

Poached eggs are eggs cooked outside the shell in simmering water. The egg white will wrap around the yolk as it cooks, and set around the soft yolk.

Hard Boiled Eggs

Hard boiled eggs are eggs cooked inside the shell in a pot of boiling water. For hard boiled eggs, the entire egg - yolk and white - are set.

Soft Boiled EggsSoft boiled eggs are cooked within the shell by submerging the egg in boiling water. The time the egg spends in the water will affect the consistency of the soft boiled egg yolk and white.

Over Easy Eggs

Over easy eggs, or eggs over easy, as they’re sometimes called, are cooked in a pan until the white is set, and then flipped to cook the yolk side. Over easy eggs differ from basted eggs, because the top of the egg is cooked by flipping the egg, rather than cooking it with butter or oil. The yolk remains a bit runny in an over easy egg.

Over Hard Eggs

Over hard eggs are similar to over easy eggs with the exception of the yolk, which is cooked all the way through.

Fried Eggs

Fried eggs are cooked in butter or grease in a skillet until the egg is cooked on one or both sides. Fried eggs can be served over easy, over medium, over hard, or sunny side up - depending on how well done you like the yolk.

Baked Eggs

Also known as ‘shirred eggs’ are eggs that are baked in a flat dish like a ramekin or a muffin pan and then topped with herbs, cheese or vegetables.

Deviled Eggs

Deviled eggs are created by removing a cooked yolk from a hard boiled egg, mixing the yolk with mayonnaise and mustard, and then piping the yolk mixture back into the egg white. Deviled eggs are a popular brunch dish, or enjoyed as a snack.

Egg Salad

Made by mixing hard boiled eggs with mustard, mayonnaise, and paprika. Egg salad can be eaten on its own, or made into a sandwich.

Frittata

A baked, egg-based dish that includes herbs, vegetables, cheeses, and meat. Frittatas are usually served for breakfast or brunch.

Omelet

Beaten eggs are cooked in a skillet until just set, and then ingredients like cheeses, sauteed vegetables or meats are folded in.

Pickled Eggs

Just as the name implies, hard boiled eggs that are pickled with a combination of vinegar and pickling spices or brine.

Quiche

A popular French bistro dish, quiches are egg dishes baked in a pie crust. The most popular variation, quiche Lorraine contains ham or bacon, cheese, heavy cream and chives.

Scotch Eggs

Usually served in pubs across the UK scotch eggs are soft boiled eggs wrapped in sausage and bread crumbs, and then deep-fried or baked.

Baked Egg Custard

A sweet egg dish made with milk, vanilla, sugar, and nutmeg.

Frozen Egg Custard

A sweet, frozen egg dish similar to ice cream, but made with egg yolks for an extra creamy texture.