Hey Chefs,

Today was a big one—Egg Day in culinary school. If you’ve been through it, you know. If you haven’t—brace yourself. It’s a rite of passage, the day the humble egg becomes your fiercest competitor and greatest teacher.

By the end of class, I swear we’d cracked through a few hundred. We flipped, folded, poached, scrambled, and somewhere in the chaos of airborne yolks and overzealous pan flips, the stovetop turned yellow. (Battle scars. We wear them with pride.)

Why eggs? Because eggs are everything. They’re deceptively simple, endlessly versatile, and unforgiving when mistreated. In the culinary world, knowing how to cook an egg properly is a benchmark—it proves you understand heat, timing, texture, and finesse. Anyone can fry an egg. Not everyone can nail it.

So, let’s break it down. Here’s a guide to some of the most common egg preparations and what it takes to get them just right:

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Fried Eggs

• Sunny-Side Up: Low and slow. Cover with a lid if you want the top to set without flipping.
  
• Over-Easy/Medium/Hard: Flip gently, and let timing dictate doneness. No crusty whites allowed.
  

Poached Eggs

• Simmering, not boiling water. A splash of vinegar. Create a gentle whirlpool, drop the egg in, and watch the magic happen. 3–4 minutes for a silky yolk.
  

Soft/Hard-Boiled Eggs

• Soft-Boiled: 6–7 minutes from boiling for a jammy yolk.
  
• Hard-Boiled: 10–12 minutes. Then straight into an ice bath for clean peeling.
  

Scrambled Eggs

• Low and slow for custardy, creamy curds. Stir constantly for a French-style texture. For diner-style: medium heat, a bit of butter, minimal stirring.

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Eggs are also the foundation of so much more—custards, sauces, meringues, emulsions, and baked goods all rely on understanding egg behavior.

So if you’re mastering the egg, you’re mastering technique.

Happy Egg Day, everyone. Keep calm and crack on.