How to break an egg?

[karadekoolaid]

Today I had to crack 2 doz boiled eggs for an egg, coconut and mango curry. Screwed up the first one, but then put them in a bowl full of water, and the shells came off just fine.
Another dish we did today was bubble & squeak with quail eggs. Now they´re delicate! Just tap open one end and let the egg slide on to the pan. 2 minutes max!

 

[taxlady]

You got me thinking. I switched to the "crack it on a flat surface method", when I kept reading about it from usually reliable sources. I didn't have a lot of luck with that. I figured I needed to practise. Then, I forgot that I was still testing out the method and just kept doing it. Now, it has been long enough. I think it worked better when I cracked the egg on a sharp surface. Time to try that out again.

I was taught to always crack the egg into a different container first, usually a small bowl. One bad egg was enough to convince me that the egg should always be cracked into that small bowl before being added to ingredients. Making it easier to fish out bits of shell is a bonus. I haven't had a bad egg in decades, but I still crack eggs into a bowl first.

Just the other day, I cracked two eggs for carbonara. I used a sharp edge to crack them. No bits of egg shell came off into the bowl with the egg. Not enough data to be convincing yet, but I'm leaning towards the "crack it on a sharp edge" camp again.

 

[Andy M.]

Just the other day, I cracked two eggs for carbonara. I used a sharp edge to crack them. No bits of egg shell came off into the bowl with the egg. Not enough data to be convincing yet, but I'm leaning towards the "crack it on a sharp edge" camp again.

The other argument against cracking on an edge is that it could push the dirt/germs on the shell into the egg.

 

[taxlady]

The other argument against cracking on an edge is that it could push the dirt/germs on the shell into the egg.

Wouldn't those germs be on bits of egg shell? Are we imagining that the bit of egg shell with the germs contaminates some of the egg white, but doesn't get into the bowl? Somehow I think that bits of egg shell that actually end up in the bowl are worse.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Somehow I think that bits of egg shell that actually end up in the bowl are worse.

Plus the fact that so many people say that the best way to remove a piece of shell from the bowl is to scoop it up with a bigger piece of shell.

Commercially produced eggs are washed and sanitized before being packed in cartons. If I buy fresh eggs from a farmers market or farm stand, I ask the farmer if they have been washed or not. Some do, some don't.

 

[taxlady]

Plus the fact that so many people say that the best way to remove a piece of shell from the bowl is to scoop it up with a bigger piece of shell.

Commercially produced eggs are washed and sanitized before being packed in cartons. If I buy fresh eggs from a farmers market or farm stand, I ask the farmer if they have been washed or not. Some do, some don't.

That's true, the ones from the store are washed, in the US and Canada. That's why we should store them in the fridge. The cuticle, the outside, protective layer of the shell, gets washed off. With unwashed eggs, they can be safely stored at room temperature. So, from a farmer or farmer's market, I would ask. Then I would know the best way to store the egg. Also, if they were unwashed, I would wash them right before using them.

 

[karadekoolaid]

What is that? I only like bubbly! And fermented grapes (wine!??)! I am actually going to drop my... troubled child at my sister's house next week! I changed my mind! Yay!

Bubble & Squeak is an ancient British breakfast recipe, designed yo use up leftovers. Fried bacon, onion, potato and cabbage - serve with eggs.

 

[karadekoolaid]

This is bubble and squeak.

 

[roadfix]

What is the secret of breaking an egg?

It’s all in the wrist…

 

[lastmanstanding]

In my country, during the New Year Games in April, "catching the egg" is a fun game.

You get teams of 2 people and stand facing each other in lines. So all player 1 on one side facing all player 2 on other side. The game starts with the two lines at around 2 feet apart. Players must throw the egg to each other without breaking it. When all teams have passed it, and those who broke the egg removed, distance between the two lines is increased. So it goes on increasing the distance until one team remains victorious.

As the distance increases, most eggs usually break hitting the chest or the face. lol.

 

[roadfix]

So the last.man.standing without the broken egg wins!

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

In my country, during the New Year Games in April, "catching the egg" is a fun game.

You get teams of 2 people and stand facing each other in lines. So all player 1 on one side facing all player 2 on other side. The game starts with the two lines at around 2 feet apart. Players must throw the egg to each other without breaking it. When all teams have passed it, and those who broke the egg removed, distance between the two lines is increased. So it goes on increasing the distance until one team remains victorious.

As the distance increases, most eggs usually break hitting the chest or the face. lol.

We did that in Boy Scouts. Some of the things that were allowed in the 60's, would be banned because of insurance worries today. Much of the adventure is gone now. It's a shadow of what was at one time, a great organization.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[lastmanstanding]

So the last.man.standing without the broken egg wins!

That's a nice pun. It didn't occur to me!

We did that in Boy Scouts. Some of the things that were allowed in the 60's, would be banned because of insurance worries today. Much of the adventure is gone now. It's a shadow of what was at one time, a great organization.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

Yeah now everything depends on how much one has to pay. Fight for survival starts at birth itself now. lol.