The Guaranteed Way To Crack An Egg Without Breaking The Yolk
The bacon is sizzling. The toast is browning. Your mouth-watering breakfast appears to be right on track, but then it happens. You crack your egg and poof, your hopes for two perfectly formed yolks are squashed. Yes, your sunny-side-up eggs will have to be over-medium. And your plans to dunk your toast in an orb of yolky heaven have been dashed. If only you possessed a foolproof method for cracking an egg without breaking the yolk.
It turns out that the internet is full of egg-cracking advice, and it's here to tell you that you've been cracking eggs all wrong. Who knew? One suggestion involves using a knife. According to a study by the Poultry Research Unit of Glasgow University, the method that revolves around a palette knife was the most effective of all the tested methods. Professor Sally Solomon told the Telegraph that you should simply hold the egg so the narrower end is pointing towards your fingers and strike the egg's waistline with the knife. All Women's Talk concurs, offering that the blade allows you to make a tidy crack which lessens the chance of stray eggshells and shattered yolks.
Sure, the knife trick sounds promising, but there is an even more reliable way of ensuring picture-perfect yolks — one that doesn't involve shopping for a palette knife or contending with sharp edges.
Never crack an egg on the edge of a bowl
If you require a perfectly formed yolk, you may want to try this highly recommended method. According to MasterClass, the best way to ensure an intact yolk is to gently tap your egg against something flat like a countertop. Use your best hand (yes just one) with your thumb on the egg's bottom and your next two fingers on top. Lightly press your thumbs toward the crack you've made and pry it open, gently poking through the membrane, releasing the egg whites and the yolk into a bowl. Why is this the best method?
The most common alternative involves cracking the egg against the edge of a bowl or frying pan. Instead of establishing a clean break, the shell shatters into a mess of tiny pieces that can break your yolk and pollute the entire egg with shards. Using the countertop, instead, creates a lengthy break that can be pried open with your digits. And that is not the only problem with using the edge of a bowl. Chatelaine warns that it can be easy to thwack the egg too hard, pushing the shell right into your egg yolk and breaking it.
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, things don't go as planned. Don't fret. If you do wind up shoving a few errant eggshell remnants into your egg's innards, there are ways to retrieve them.
An intact egg shell can prove a valuable tool
In a YouTube video, Jamie Oliver recommends simply using half of an intact eggshell to scoop up the stray bits. He clearly demonstrates that this method is both accurate and tidy. Chatelaine is also an advocate for this approach, suggesting that the eggshell is the best tool to cleanly collect broken shell pieces without destroying the yolk. They do, however, suggest that when using Oliver's technique, you select the eggshell half that has the smoothest edge to prevent creating more shell pieces. While Insider agrees, saying this technique makes use of an otherwise useless eggshell and keeps your hands clean, it points out that it does rob you of quite a bit of egg white during the scooping-up process.
According to Insider, another method involves simply wetting your fingers and fishing out the stray shell pieces. Admittedly, your hands will become riddled with egg and small pieces may require more than one attempt, but the outlet says this strategy was easy.
While this information may not save today's failed breakfast attempt, it will likely ensure that your future yolks are worthy of being sunny-side up. For now, you'll have to settle for scrambled.