May 19, 2022 at 9:35 PM
Who doesn’t know it: if you just want to bake an omelet, a piece of shell falls into the bowl or the pan when you break the eggs. It can be very difficult to get such a small piece of shell out of your dish. With the tips of these two experts it will be possible.
By Anne van Asseldonk
If you break an egg, it sometimes happens that a piece of eggshell comes with it and disappears in the pan or in the bowl. If the egg has a brittle shell, it is easier to get bits of eggshell with it, says Jeroen van der Linden, co-founder of restaurant Oeuf in Amsterdam.
Since 2019, this restaurant has focused entirely on dishes with egg. A lot of eggs are broken every day in the kitchen. “You only know how brittle the shell is when you break the egg. You really only have one chance,” says Van der Linden.
If you ‘crack’ your eggs on a baking tray, you can generally easily remove the piece of eggshell with a spatula. In this way, even a fried egg often remains in shape. It becomes more difficult if you are working with a bowl or frying pan.
Create a clean break
The most common mistake made is that people break the egg on the edge of their pan, bowl or counter. In this way the egg dents and the membrane on the inside of the shell tears, knows Franca van Dalen, founder of the website eieiei.nl. “To avoid this, break the egg on a flat surface, such as the top of your kitchen counter.”
After the tap on the counter, place your thumbs on either side of the score line and pull the halves apart.
Franca van Dalen, eieiei.nl
Do this with one firm tap, as much in the middle as possible, on the widest part of the egg. This will give your egg a nice, straight crack in the middle. Because you make such a ‘clean’ break, no pieces of shell come loose. If it does happen, they often stick to the rest of the skin and the ovary. “After the tap on the counter, put your thumbs on either side of the score line and pull the halves apart,” says Van Dalen.
Prevent and cure
Because prevention is better than cure, it is advisable to break eggs over a separate bowl. This eliminates the chance that a spoiled egg accidentally ends up in the dish. And if pieces of shell come with it, it’s easier to fish them from a separate bowl than from a pan in which the dish is already cooking.
Van der Linden gives as a tip to fish the piece of eggshell out of the dish with an empty eggshell. A large piece of eggshell has a magnetizing effect on those pesky little pieces. “Don’t use a very brittle shell to fish pieces of eggshell out of your dish. Then you are more likely to lose more pieces,” he says.
The easiest way to remove a blood clot in a raw egg is with the wet tip of a knife.
Franca van Dalen, eieiei.nl
Another trick is to use a wet spoon or wet finger. If you have indeed broken the egg over a separate bowl, you can also make a quick circular motion with the bowl and then pour the contents into another bowl, adds Van Dalen. “With a bit of luck, the piece of egg shell will stick to the first bowl.”
Does not it work? It can’t hurt to ingest bits of eggshell. The shell of a chicken egg consists of about 40 percent calcium carbonate, the most common form of calcium. There are even people who grind the shells and use them as a supplement.
Eating Eggs During Pregnancy
Small, reddish-brown spots
When breaking eggs, in addition to the pieces of eggshell, sometimes a brown-red spot is also added. This is not a piece of embryo, as some people think. It is a small blood clot from the laying hen and can be eaten normally.
Many people find it an unsavory sight or an unsavory thought. “The easiest way to remove a blood clot in a raw egg is with the wet tip of a knife. In a boiled egg you can just pop it out with your spoon,” concludes Van Dalen.
Image: Getty Images
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