Long egg is the bizarre food trend you probably want to try but hate to admit
For centuries, humanity has been on the search for a fool-proof way to cut boiled eggs evenly. First, they tried the knife technique, followed by the cooling rack technique and then the unflavoured floss technique—only to invent an entire device with small blades to achieve uniform slices later on. But what if you could change the size of the canvas without conjuring up ideas to fit the desired art? Introducing long eggs, an eggstreme food trend that will make you question your morals only while serving it for others to eat.
What is a long egg?
Imagine wiggling a cylindrical, 20-inch long, yolk-filled log of boiled egg in your hands. Now imagine slicing it—made easier by its PVC pipe-like packaging—to discover the yolk running evenly throughout the loaf, wrapped with egg whites from all the sides. That’s a long egg for you. If you can’t imagine all of that, I’ve got you. Here’s a real-time depiction of the ‘abomination’:
Almost makes you believe humanity has cracked genetic mutation, right? Sadly, no chicken nor velociraptor is responsible for the creation of long eggs. In fact, the closest we’ve been to witnessing an actual chicken laying a long egg is on Reddit, when a user posed with a 5-inch egg minutes after it was laid.
So who is responsible for these 20-inch egg loaves? What if I told you that humanity invented these 46 years ago in Denmark? Debuting in 1974, long eggs are the creation of a Denmark-based company called DANÆG. Made using the SANOVO 6-32, normal-sized eggs are first washed and cracked to separate the egg white from the yolk. The whites are then cooked in a mould that has a hole running along its centre. The yolks are later injected evenly into this hole and cooked to resemble regular eggs, but longer. Once these aesthetic rolls wiggle their way down towards the quality inspectors, they are then double-checked, packed and sold as the “DANÆG Long Egg”—which is still available in markets today.
Although long eggs were invented back in 1974, it wasn’t until a video advertising the product surfaced in 2013 that the trend truly divided the internet. “Abomination,” “Satan’s offspring,” and “Okay, but why tho?” were common echo chambers the trend was often hard-boiled in. Until…DIY videos started flocking the internet.
How to make long eggs at home
Similar to the SANOVO 6-32, begin by washing and cracking a couple of eggs to separate the whites from the yolk. Now grab your beater and whisk both the components separately. Boil some water on the stove and begin oiling the insides of a tube or a heat-resistant glass. The oiling process here is a necessary step to ensure the long egg plops right out after boiling. Now submerge the glass into the pot of boiling water and stick a thinner glass into the middle. Rubber bands can be stretched taut across the handles to wedge the inner mould in place.
Once your apparatus is ready, pour the egg whites into the outer mould and wait for them to cook. Now remove the inner mould and pour the yolk into the boiled orifice. Wait for the yolks to cook (depending on your yolk-consistency preference) and then remove from the heat. All that’s left now is to slice, eat and (maybe) repeat!
For some, long eggs might be worth the whisk. However, if you still aren’t willing to take the risk, it helps to warm up a little before committing the so-called sin. How about visiting this subreddit dedicated to experiments with eggs, for starters? Finding your long egg name using the second letter of your first name helps too.
