DIPPY eggs and soldiers are the most nostalgic British dish of all time, a new survey suggests.

Four in 10 Britons love the soft-boiled eggs with buttery toast cut into strips, which topped the list at 39%, ahead of Angel Delight (38%), fish fingers, chips and beans (37%), jelly and ice cream (37%) and beans on toast (37%).

Bowl of rice pudding topped with cherry and berry groats.
Around 34% of people said rice pudding was the most nostalgic dish Credit: Getty Images/Westend61
A slice of toast topped with baked beans in tomato sauce on a white plate with a blue rim.
The research surveyed 2,000 UK adults and found four in ten love soft-boiled eggs with toast Credit: Alamy

Also on that list was apple crumble and custard (32%), fairy cakes (27%) and shepherd’s pie (25%).

According to 2,000 UK adults surveyed as part of research by St. Ewe Free Range Eggs for their ‘For the Love of Egg’ campaign, over a third (35%) believe that food can instantly you back to childhood, while 31% describe childhood dishes as the ultimate comfort food.

And dippy eggs remain a popular choice in the present day, with 14% of adults still consuming them for dinner, 17% eating them as a late-night snack, and 19% turning to them when they need cheering up.

18% rustle them up when feeling poorly and 10% eat them to aid with a hangover.

A glass dish filled with strawberry Angel Delight next to a packet of the dessert mix.
Around 40 per cent of people said Angel Delight was most nostalgic Credit: Alamy
Close-up of a Viennetta ice cream cake with its blue box in the background.
Around 22% of people polled said Viennetta was the most nostalgic food Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

However, adults who opt for boiled egg and soldiers are more likely to put a twist on the dish compared to how they consumed them as a child.

White sliced bread is still the optimum choice at 49%, although 13% choose wholemeal and 11% now favour sourdough.

One in five (20%) add sea salt, while more adventurous dippers opt for Marmite (9%), hot honey (9%), chilli sauce (9%), parmesan (7%), salmon and cottage cheese (7%) or even harissa (3%).

To celebrate Britain’s devotion to the dippy egg, St. Ewe will open its Soak & Soldiers Café at Waterloo Station on Thursday 8 October.

From 6am–12pm, commuters can enjoy complimentary St. Ewe dippy eggs with Jason’s Sourdough soldiers.

Bex Tonks, founder and farmer of St. Ewe Free Range Eggs, said: “Dippy eggs and soldiers are so much more than just a breakfast, they’re one of Britain’s great food rituals.

“Whether it’s your favourite egg cup, a parent cutting your soldiers just the way you liked them, or the anticipation of that first perfectly golden dip, they’re little moments of joy that stay with us for life.

“That sense of devotion, comfort and connection is exactly what For the Love of Egg celebrates.

The way we eat our eggs might evolve – white sliced bread becomes sourdough, or tastes become a little more adventurous – but the simple joy of cracking into a beautiful golden egg and dipping that first soldier hasn’t really changed.

“It’s a small ritual, but one that means an awful lot.”

The 20 most nostalgic British dishes of all time, according to St. Ewe Free Range Eggs survey:

1. Dippy eggs and soldiers – 39%

2. Angel Delight – 38%

3. Fish fingers, chips and beans – 37%

4. Jelly and ice cream – 37%

5. Beans on toast – 37%

6. Sausage and mash – 35%

7. Rice pudding – 34%

8. Apple crumble and custard – 32%

9. Sausage, egg and chips – 32%

10. Fairy cakes – 27%

11. Jam roly-poly and custard – 26%

12. Arctic roll – 25%

13. Shepherd’s pie – 25%

14. Cottage pie – 23%

15. Victoria sponge cake – 23%

16. Toad in the hole – 22%

17. Viennetta – 22%

18. Bread and butter pudding – 20%

19. Eggy bread – 20%

20.Ham, egg and chips – 19%