Gently Cooked Eggs ... I'm Not Alone

I love eggs. I still remember that ad campaign that ran on TV during the late 1970s. Its tagline was "The Incredible, Edible Egg." I couldn't agree more.

Fried eggs, egg salad sandwiches, omelettes, scrambled eggs . . . you name it, I'm happy to eat it -- and not just for breakfast. But I am a little particular about how my eggs are cooked. I don't like my scrambled eggs or omelettes to be cooked until they are dry; I prefer them to be somewhat moist. Am I rolling the dice on my health?

In this hyper-worrisome world, I suspected that most people were avoiding sunny-side-up eggs simply out of fear that they'd get salmonella. Apparently, I was wrong. Based on an unscientific Washington Post poll of its readers, there are many others like me who are not about to give up eggs that are gently cooked.

Even though the Food and Drug Administration's egg-carton advisory urges the public to "cook eggs until yolks are firm," there are plenty of us out there who are willing to not go quite that far.

Out of more than 3,300 respondents to the Post's poll, 78% said they would eat sunny-side-up eggs. Only 22% said they would not. So, if I am throwing caution to the wind, I sure have a lot of company.