You’re probably cracking your eggs wrong — which could be hazardous to your health
Don’t be a clumsy oeuf!
Whoever coined the phrase “there’s more than one way to crack an egg” was technically correct. But there’s only one way to crack an egg safely, experts say, warning that one of the most popular methods could wind up being hazardous to your health.
Many of us — even Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, who famously showed off her one-handed technique in an old baking video that recently went viral — do our cracking on the rim of the mixing bowl or frying pan.
But there’s a better, less risky way, said a pro writing for The Kitchn, a popular cooking site.
There are two reasons to be wary of the edge-of-the-bowl technique, they said — for one, this method will push the shattered shell back into the actual egg; you’re also risking tiny fragments falling into your bowl or pan.
The second reason? Bacteria from those shell fragments could wind up contaminating your food — people who like their eggs over easy or soft scrambled, for example, could be risking illness if the shell exteriors are carrying crud, the Mirror reported.
Good news, however — there’s an easy way to get the job done safely, and you don’t need to be trained, or even have any prowess in the kitchen at all, to master this skill.
Step one — give the egg one “single, firm tap” on a solid, flat surface, the expert said.
‘”[This] method is far less likely to result in broken yolks, or eggshell ending up in the bowl or pan,” they wrote.
Next, pull the perforated shell apart, watching how it makes a perfectly clean break, with the yolk and whites slipping straight out of the shell. Wasn’t that easy?
Confidence — and balance — is key. Smack that egg too hard on your surface, and it could shatter. With just the right amount of oomph, the shell winds up breaking cleanly in half.
“A single, firm tap [and] the egg will crack, easily split open, and the yolk and white will slide out, all while avoiding the shell shattering into a million pieces, getting bits of shell in the egg, breaking the yolk, or introducing any bacteria from the outside of the shell to the yolk or white,” the pro explained.
“After you try it once or twice, believe it or not, this method actually feels easier than the rim method,” they promised.
Safely-handled eggs enjoy widespread popularity for their nutritional qualities — with some experts even saying that they can help “supercharge” your immune system.
And if you’re abstaining for fear of your next cholesterol readings, don’t — according to the medical minds at the Mayo Clinic, the oils and fats used to cook eggs might be what you really need to be worrying about.
Just don’t go overboard trying to be healthy — one clean eater earned her share of ire from the internet after suggesting that people scramble their eggs in a bath of boiling water, fishing out the finished product. Talk about cracked.
