Striving for egg-cellence
Surely every food-TV-addicted amateur cook knows the complicated feelings that rise when you see a Michelin-starred chef pick up an egg. You know they’re going to do it, the thing you have tried and failed to do so many times. How much eggshell have you picked out of your nascent cake batter, or out of your fluffy scrambled eggs? You are struggling, and they make it look so easy.
Crack! It’s the sound of a professional chef expertly cracking an egg, one-handed. It doesn’t seem to matter whether they use the side of their cast-iron frying pan, a mixing bowl, or even the kitchen counter. That perfect crack! haunts your kitchen, the two neat halves of the shell falling apart obediently. Maybe your hands just aren’t big enough. Maybe they’re too big. Maybe chefs use more crackable eggs or more expensive brown eggs? It doesn’t matter. We’re here to help. You can crack an egg perfectly, and we’re going to show you how.
Most egg cracking tricks just don’t work
First of all, we’re going to let go of the idea that you, who holds no culinary qualification, can successfully crack an egg one-handed. It’s hard enough to peel a hardboiled egg; even your neatest crack ever would still require you to use two hands to pull the shell apart. Some people are proponents of the flat surface for optimum cracking, such as the kitchen counter, but we find this just splinters the eggshell and often doesn’t crack it enough. Others prefer to use an edge, such as the side of a pan or bowl; the hard edge acts like a knife to which the eggshell must yield. This can work, but it’s unlikely to be neat—you have to apply the right amount of pressure, and to have sufficient hand-eye coordination to ensure you apply that pressure to the center of the egg. Too hard, and the egg shatters into a yolky mess. Too soft, and it doesn’t crack enough, leaving you tapping your egg cautiously on the side. There’s an easier way, free of egg puns.
But this one does!
It’s time to learn how to crack a perfect egg every time. Accept that you will not be the instrument of perfect egg crackage. This time, you’re just going to drop the egg straight into the pan. Don’t believe us? Take a look at the video below.
@nelliesfreerangeLook ma, no shell! 🍳•The #e#ggcrackchallenge works best with our #f#reerangeeggs because of their strong, thick shells. #l#ifehack #n#elliesfreerange♬ Pump Up The Jam – The Hit Crew
A perfect egg crack every time! And clean hands as well. It’s worth noting, as Nellie’s Free Range eggs does, that eggs from free-range (not just cage-free) hens have stronger shells due to the hens being able to express natural behavior and consume enough grit to make nice, strong shells. More robust shells are more likely to crack perfectly, as shown in the video. Of course, if you can afford it you should be buying free- or pasture-raised eggs anyway, as raising hens in these ways allow them to lead happier, healthier lives (and make better eggs).
So there you have it: the easiest and best way to crack eggs. We bet the Michelin-starred chefs don’t know this trick. Next, make sure you know how to tell if eggs are still good.
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