I compared fried eggs cooked in oil, butter and water — one was the crispiest

Fried eggs are a breakfast staple, but your choice of cooking fat can make a big difference to the final texture.

Fried eggs are a breakfast essential, whether you’re enjoying them as part of a full English, atop toast or alongside bacon. Not only are they tasty, but they’re also among the easiest and most rewarding ways to prepare an egg.

With just a touch of heat and some fat or liquid, you can achieve golden, crispy edges, delicate whites and a beautifully runny yolk.

However, the cooking technique can significantly affect the final result. To determine which approach produces the best fried eggs, I prepared three eggs using oil, butter and water to see which delivered the ideal egg.

One yielded the crispiest edges and the smoothest yolk — though the findings may come as a surprise.

3) Water

For my initial attempt, I experimented with frying eggs in water alone, without any additional fat or oil. It sounds peculiar, I realise, but the outcome was rather intriguing.

To prepare this egg, I poured half a cup of water into a non-stick frying pan and brought it to a simmer over medium heat. Once the water began to boil and bubble, I cracked the eggs into the pan.

After roughly a minute, I then positioned a lid over the pan to create steam and accelerate the cooking process. I allowed this to cook for a further minute before lifting the lid.

The water had completely evaporated, but surprisingly, the egg whites were thick and slightly crispy, while the yolk remained pleasantly jammy. Overall, this egg tasted the least appealing; it was slimy, rubbery and lacking in flavour. I promptly discarded them after eating.

2) Oil

Surprisingly, frying eggs in oil came in second place, though it fell short of taking the top spot. To prepare these eggs, I coated a non-stick pan with extra-virgin olive oil and heated it until hot.

Once the oil began to sizzle, I cracked the eggs straight in. They cooked remarkably quickly, taking under two minutes. The most off-putting aspect of this method was the oil spitting and catching my skin.

Visually, these eggs appeared quite appealing, though they lacked a little crispiness and looked somewhat pale. Had I left them cooking any longer, however, the yolk would have set solid rather than remaining jammy and silky.

The flavour was pleasant, and upon tasting them, my boyfriend let out a loud “mmm” in delight. Even so, there was room for improvement, which is why they came in second place.

3) Butter

Finally, we come to the butter eggs, which, despite their appearance, were absolutely perfect. To cook eggs in butter, I melted two teaspoons of butter in the same pan over medium heat.

Once the butter had fully melted and began to sizzle, I cracked the eggs into the pan. These took roughly two minutes to cook and turned out wonderfully flavoursome.

The whites were delightfully crispy and buttery, while the yolk was silky, velvety and jammy. Upon taking a bite, my boyfriend sat back in awe.

The fewer words he uttered and the more he ate, the clearer it became that this was the undisputed winner.