Cracking an Egg...

[Zosherooney]

We were discussing over the Crimbo period, the manner of cracking eggs. Something you would believe to be genuinely basic. My neighbour was taught to crack it with a teaspoon handle and (assuming the handle top was rounded) scrape the white out with the rounded handle. I on the other hand was taught to use some 'edge' (be it saucepan edge etc. and my forefinger to remove the white that was reluctant to leave? I have much regarded chefs that crack them with one hand to waste some extent of white? I know, it's working kitchen but....

How do you crack an egg ??

[aero280]

On the edge of the cup. I break the egg into a cup to check it's OK, before pouring it into the bowl.

[TeresaFoodie]

I did this earlier today. Sat the boiled eggs in the saucepan on a tea towel next to some kitchen roll. Each egg got a swift but gentle crack on the kitchen roll then my fingers got stuck into removing the shell and membrane leaving as little white behind as possible. I don't go picking about if this does happen. Shells, membrane and kitchen roll folded up and thrown in the bin, eggs a quick sloosh under the cold tap. Job done.

[StokeySue]

I'm a bit confused Zosh, are you thinking of raw or cooked eggs?
Raw I break like aero on the edge of a cup or small bowl, as near the middle as possible, then the egg just flows out of each half. Sometimes I use the edge of a pan or bowl or tap with a knife or the spatula if frying the egg.
Soft boiled eggs I usually decapitate with a knife then spoon out the contents into my mouth
Hard boiled I crack gently all over by rolling, then peel from the broad end as it's easier to start with the air pocket

I never feel any need to encourage the white out with a spoon handle though, for any type of egg

[karadekoolaid]

Fresh eggs or boiled eggs?
If they're fresh, just like Aero. On the halfway line, so that, if you need to separate the white from the yolk, you can pass the yolk from one half to another.
Soft Boiled? Once they're cooked to your satisfaction ( and I have to admit I haven't eaten boiled and and soldiers for about 55 years), put them in your egg cup and chip the top off with the edge of a spoon.
Hard boiled? Once they're cooked to your satisfaction ( I cook them from cold and boil for 4 minutes, then leave them in the water for another 6 minutes), drain the hot water and fill the pot with ice cold water. Leave for a minute or two, then remove from the water, crack the shell all over on the counter top, then immerse them in the water again and start peeling from the pointed end. The shell and the membrane should come off easily.

[earthmaiden]

As you mention chefs cracking eggs with one hand I assume you mean raw eggs. I think I might have been shown at some point how to hit them with a knife to get a 'cleaner' cut but generally tap them against whatever receptacle they are going to go into (saucepan, bowl etc) - always in the middle. I don't remember ever having much problem in getting the white out.

I am with aero about cracking the egg into a cup to check it's alright before introducing it to more eggs or other ingredients. This was really drummed into us at school with a story of a girl who cracked several eggs straight into an expensive Christmas cake mixture and then the last one was bad. It horrifies me on TV when cooks/chefs add several eggs to a mixture without checking first. I suppose we just don't expect to see bad eggs these days - it's a long time since I saw one.

Actually, a discussion on the correct way to crack an egg reminds me of a heated discussion with MIL when I was a young wife and she declared that I wasn't slicing a cooking apple the way that she did it (so clearly it was wrong ).

[StokeySue]

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, the Big End Heresy

"It is computed that eleven thousand persons have at several times suffered death rather than submit to break their eggs at the smaller end [...] Neither are any wars so furious and bloody, or of so long continuance as those occasioned by difference in opinion, especially if it be in things indifferent."

[Herbidacious]

Uncooked, I usually use a knife, or the side of the thing they are going into. It's not something I put a lot of thought into though... Although I am meticulous about getting as much white out of the shell as possible.

[suffolk]

Raw I break like aero on the edge of a cup or small bowl, as near the middle as possible, then the egg just flows out of each half. Sometimes I use the edge of a pan or bowl or tap with a knife or the spatula if frying the egg.
Soft boiled eggs I usually decapitate with a knife then spoon out the contents into my mouth
Hard boiled I crack gently all over by rolling, then peel from the broad end as it's easier to start with the air pocket

I never feel any need to encourage the white out with a spoon handle though, for any type of egg

Ditto

[Prettykiwicrazy]

Triple ditto ! It's funny but one of the small kitchen jobs I get the most satisfaction out of is peeling hard boiled eggs . Something very therapeutic about it . Even when I was young and living at home and my mum was making egg mayo , the peeling of the shells was always my job.

[suffolk]

Even when I was young and living at home and my mum was making egg mayo , the peeling of the shells was always my job.

Ditto to that too ........ and given that we lived on a farm, hard boiled eggs were a frequent happening in our kitchen

[Ratatouille]

When cleaning out some kitchen drawers recently I discovered, not only a sea urchin cutter but a similar weapon for beheading raw eggs. Just sometimes I like to use a neat nearly whole shell for a starter like truffled eggs or scrambled eggs with smoked salmon. It usually only comes out at Easter time.

[Zosherooney]

I did mean raw......there always seems to be a smattering of reluctant white that stays on the more pointy end of the shell.

[TeresaFoodie]

I have yet to master the art of neatly cracking a raw egg. Usually these are for fried and I usually end up breaking the yolk. It's not such a problem, just annoying that I cannot do something so simple. I use the blade of a sharp knife. I've tried all methods mentioned, always fail.

[PatsyMFagan]

I do the same as most others .. I use a knife, or on the edge of a cup to check freshness before adding to anything else, or the spatula if frying. I use a finger to free any white that is clinging on.

Anna Olsen, the Canadian baker always cracks her directly on the counter top. I read somewhere that this stops any bits of shell getting into the white ...

[StokeySue]

I did mean raw......there always seems to be a smattering of reluctant white that stays on the more pointy end of the shell.

Hmm... I just made a frittata and checked this
I don't think the bit that clings to the pointy end is the desirable bit of the white (albumin), I think it's the anchor point of the chalaza, the twisted rope-like structure that holds the yolk, and later the embryo in place in the centre of the egg
Usually when making something like egg custard you strain out the chalaza, not add it in!

[northleedsbhoy]

I'm afraid that life's too short for me to bother scraping the remains of the white from the shell when I break an egg. I normally use a knife to crack them, I did try cracking them on the counter but couldn't master the method.

Cheers
NLB

[Ratatouille]

There ws a question about peeling quails eggs on TKC this morning. apparently the secret is to pop them in vinegar after cooking and then they peel perfectly. Although i can buy them ready peeled in our supermarket I might buy some shell-on ones this week to try because they are indeed a pain.

[TeresaFoodie]

I have never checked the inside of a cracked raw egg shell to notice any white lingering....

[KC2]

There ws a question about peeling quails eggs on TKC this morning. apparently the secret is to pop them in vinegar after cooking and then they peel perfectly. Although i can buy them ready peeled in our supermarket I might buy some shell-on ones this week to try because they are indeed a pain.

That's interesting, I might give that a try!

How long do you boil them for?

[karadekoolaid]

Quail eggs are notoriously difficult to peel.
I once decided to do some quail eggs for a 31st party, and bought 4 dozen. They took almost two hours to peel and looked awful
Never again!!

[Mamta]

I crack the uncooked egg with a knife too. If I need to separate the white and yellow, I do one at a time in a small bowl, 1) to check if it is okay and 2) just in case it breaks. I also never bother to scrap the inside of the shell. Life indeed is too short !

[WWordsworth]

Rap it on the equator with a knife, pour the contents into a ramekin then tip it into the poaching liquid.

I do remember a very bossy Domestic Science teacher insisting the human thumb is shaped the way it is to facilitate emptying an egg shell.
This is the same teacher who got very cross with me when, aged 14, I managed to set the oven gloves on fire during the end of term exam.

[aero280]

I have used Mary Berry's method for separating eggs.

1. Break all the eggs into a bowl.

2. Use an empty plastic drinks bottle. Squeeze it and use it to suck the yolks out of the bowl. One at a time.

Works a treat!

[earthmaiden]

Good grief! That sounds well dodgy

[aero280]

Here you are!! It's not Mary, but it's the way she showed how she does it...

[miss mouse]

Quail eggs are notoriously difficult to peel.
I once decided to do some quail eggs for a 31st party, and bought 4 dozen. They took almost two hours to peel and looked awful
Never again!!

According to TKC put the boiled quail eggs in white vinegar for 8 to 10 mins and the shells will slide off easily. The vinegar dissolves the shell and they don't taste of vinegar we were told.

[Ratatouille]

I have used Mary Berry's method for separating eggs.

1. Break all the eggs into a bowl.

2. Use an empty plastic drinks bottle. Squeeze it and use it to suck the yolks out of the bowl. One at a time.

Works a treat!

What a faff. We all have a built in egg separator it's called your fingers! If you really can't do the two halves of the shell trick then just breal the egg into your hand and let the white slide through your Immaculately clean, fingers into a bowl.

[karadekoolaid]

Exactly, Rats! Why complicate a simple process?

[aero280]

I can use the fingers method, but when you are breaking into a cup and have big fingers, the white often misses the cup!! And if you do the separation after breaking into the cup, you risk breaking the yolk and contaminating the whole mix.

[earthmaiden]

The bottle method looks amazing! I'm sure I'd make a mess of it .

I hate the feel of egg white on my fingers but manage well with the two halves of shell method so I'm happy!

[PatsyMFagan]

Quail eggs are notoriously difficult to peel.
I once decided to do some quail eggs for a 31st party, and bought 4 dozen. They took almost two hours to peel and looked awful
Never again!!

According to TKC put the boiled quail eggs in white vinegar for 8 to 10 mins and the shells will slide off easily. The vinegar dissolves the shell and they don't taste of vinegar we were told.

I heard that programme too

[spottymint]

Counter always to open .... Soft boiled - tap with spoon and peel..... Seperate using half of the shells...... No faffing here.