Gadget Or Gimmick: Roundy Silicone Egg Ring

Honestly, eggs might be my favorite food. Or, at the very least, my most frequently eaten food. And no, that’s not an overstatement: I can easily grab a breakfast sandwich on the way to work, then make a scramble at the end of the day.

Before I ponder the effects of an egg-based diet, let me get to the point: As someone who has fried, scrambled, and poached her fair share, I’m always keeping my eye out for new ways to cook a better egg. But that wasn’t really why I wanted to try out Joie’s Roundy, a silicon egg ring with an anthropomorphized egg. I was draw to the cute mascot, who I decided was actually named Roundy himself.

The appeal of Roundy (the tool, not the mascot whose name I made up), is, presumably, perfectly round eggs are better for making egg sandwiches. I’m not entirely sure I believe that theory, but, sure, if you want perfectly round eggs for your breakfast, let’s see if it really delivers.

To use Roundy (again, the tool), you just have to grease it lightly and place it in a non-stick or greased pan. Crack the egg inside,and watch the magic happen. To speed up cooking, the instructions suggest covering with a lid or pan. This is where Roundy (the mascot) got in the way. He was too tall to allow me to cover properly, so I just flipped the egg at the last second to keep from having a completely hard yolk. I got a slightly round egg out of the deal (Round-ish? Dare I even call it… round-y?)

Not to be deterred, I tried again, this time allowing the whites to completely set with no flipping. I got a round egg with a very crispy bottom (it took the white to get completely cooked!), and a completely solid yolk. I also lost the delicious crispiness of the edges of a regular fried egg, and, since the mold made the egg smaller, it took way longer to make. I didn’t like the texture of the thick egg yolks, either. So while it technically delivered on it’s promise, I wasn’t sure why I’d ever really want one. Cute mascot or not, this little device is a bust. If you really want neater eggs for your breakfast sandwich, I’d recommend a quick scramble, or even microwaving beaten eggs in a small microwave-safe bowl for a bit. If you really want a round egg, you can try greasing a mason jar lid instead (and you probably already have one of those laying around). But really, I think we should all embrace the joy of the sloppy, oversized fried egg, in all its glory.