Now that we might know the why and how behind the way we like our eggs—nostalgia, comfort, and familiarity—what egg dishes seem like they’ve been most popular in family kitchens across the United States, creating preferences that may get passed down through generations?
In 2019, market research firm YouGov surveyed Americans and declared scrambled victorious with 36 percent of the vote. Over-easy came next with 18 percent, followed by sunny-side-up (12 percent), over-medium (11 percent), and hard-boiled (6 percent). Two years prior, Eat This, Not That! partnered with Yelp to find the most popular egg dish in each state. Omelets ranked highest, winning 27 states. Fried eggs took eight states, and seemingly crowd-pleasing scrambled eggs only wore the crown in West Virginia and North Carolina.
More interesting egg stats came from a GrubHub survey in 2019, Food & Wine writes. A bacon, egg, and cheese croissant took the top spot for favorite egg-based order, with any style of eggs with potatoes right behind. The data also showed what states order the most egg items: New Hampshire, Maryland, Alabama, and Connecticut.
It seems that Americans prefer scrambled when it comes to eggs on their own, but would take an omelet or sandwich if they had their pick of a full-on dish. Based on the Cracker Barrel theory, we can guess many of us grew up eating scrambled eggs and forming happy memories with all that fluffy or cheesy or soft or creamy goodness.
