There are a lot of ways to prepare eggs.

One of the more common ways is cracking the eggs directly into a skillet and frying it.  

Fried eggs typically involve cooking the egg in a skillet until it sets. 

If the egg is flipped over, it may be known as over easy, over medium or over hard eggs.

The “over” refers to the process of flipping the egg over when one side is done, and the egg may be over easy, medium or hard depending on how well the eggs are done. 

The yolk in over easy egg remains runny even though the egg white is set. This is achieved by frying the egg for a short duration that only the egg white sets, leaving the yolk runny 

Over hard eggs are fried for the longest duration in this category, and as such, both the egg whites and yolk set completely. 

The longer duration of frying gives the yolk the opportunity to be cooked through unlike in over medium and over easy eggs 

Another term that you may often come across is over well.  

Over hard eggs are very similar to over well eggs, and you might find out that both terms are used interchangeably, however there is a slight difference between both terms, and it comes down to whether the yolk is broken or not.

In this post, we find out the differences between these two forms of fried eggs  

Difference between over well and over hard eggs

In both forms of fried eggs, the eggs are thoroughly cooked, and the yolk is well done and not runny as you would find in over easy and over medium eggs  

The term over well eggs means that the yolk is cooked through, and it remains intact within the egg white portion. While in over hard eggs, the egg whites and yolk are also thoroughly cooked, but the yolk is broken before it is flipped over.

The yolk in over hard eggs may be broken to help the yolk to get cooked through. 

How to make over well eggs

Over well eggs are an easy preparation.

Making use of a well-oiled pan over medium heat, crack the eggs into the pan. You can also season the eggs with salt and pepper.

Cook the eggs for a few minutes until the egg white begins to set.

Once the egg whites begin to set, it becomes opaque.

When you notice that most of the egg white portion is opaque, flip the egg over to the other side to cook.

If you like the yolk broken, you can use a spatula to break the yolk before flipping over. 

With the spatula, the egg is flipped over for a few minutes for the other side to cook.

For over hard and over well eggs, the egg yolk is cooked all the way through until it is firm. 

You can check to see if the yolk is firm enough by gently touching the yolk with the spatula.

Once the yolk is firm enough, take the pan off heat and serve the fried eggs.