Eggs are an incredibly versatile food, and there are a wide range of ways to prepare them. Eggs can be fried, poached, boiled, baked, and scrambled. They can be used in omelets, frittatas, and the popular comfort food known as egg in the basket. Most of the preparation techniques for eggs are very easy, and cooks can adjust them to meet personal taste.
One of the most classic ways to prepare eggs is by frying them. Fried eggs are made by cracking an egg into a hot, oiled pan. The egg can be flipped over partway through to make eggs over easy, or it can be left to cook on one side only for a sunny side up egg. Once fried, the eggs can be eaten plain, served on toast, and so forth. Eggs can also be scrambled before frying; scrambled eggs are beaten with a fork before being poured into a hot pan, and ingredients like vegetables, meats, and cheese can be added for more texture and flavor. Typically the eggs are agitated with a fork as they cook so that they become light and fluffy.
For a somewhat fancier way to make scrambled eggs, you can make an omelette. Omelettes are made by scrambling eggs, pouring them into a pan, and allowing them to cook as a solid sheet. The sheet can be folded over on an assortment of ingredients for a filled omelette, and some people add shredded cheese or meat to the eggs before cooking to add more texture. All of these ways to prepare eggs are fairly basic, and as you can see, there is a lot of room for improvisation.
Poached eggs are made by boiling eggs in water on the stove top. There are two ways to prepare eggs when you are poaching them; you can crack them into boiling water, or you can use an egg poacher, which suspends cracked eggs over boiling water in small cups so that they stay compact during the poaching process. Many people like to leave poached eggs undercooked and serve them with bread to soak up the yolk. You can also prepare eggs by baking them, making what are known as shirred eggs. Shirred eggs are made by oiling small ramekins, cracking eggs into them, and baking the eggs until they turn solid. For a more adventurous baked egg dish, scramble eggs with vegetables, cheeses, and meats and pour them into an oiled dish to make a frittata, a baked egg dish which can be eaten hot or cut into wedges and eaten cold later.
Boiled eggs are also among the well known ways to prepare eggs. To make boiled eggs, drop eggs in their shells into simmering water, and cook them for three to 10 minutes. A short cooking time produces a soft boiled egg, which is runny in the middle, and suitable for immediate consumption. A longer boiling time makes hard boiled eggs, which can be eaten plain, sliced and added to salads, or turned into deviled eggs. It is not strictly necessary to poke a pinhole in boiled eggs before boiling, although it does reduce the risk of cracking.
In the opinion of this wiseGEEK article, no list of the ways to prepare eggs would be complete with egg in the hole, also known as egg in the basket. Egg in the hole is made by cutting a hole in a slice of bread, toasting the bread slightly in a buttered pan, and then cracking an egg into the hole. After the egg is cooked on one side, the bread is flipped to cook the other side. Egg in the hole is a comfort food in many regions of the world, and it is very easy and rather fun to make; if you're feeling imaginative, you can even use a big cookie cutter to create a specific shape, if you're tickled at the thought of a gingerbread man shaped hole, for example.