How should I crack an egg?

I know how to crack an egg, but is there empirical evidence as to the best way to crack an egg? With best I'm referring to a method of cracking eggs that has the lowest chance of egg shells ending up in the receptacle.

Some chefs suggest cracking an egg on a sharp edge (like a knife), presumably to ensure the cleanest cut, and therefore the lowest chance of bits falling off the egg shell.

Other chefs recommend knocking an egg on a flat surface to obtain a circular shatter pattern, where you can place your thumbs to guide the shell with opening.

All techniques I'm aware of crack eggs along the smallest axis of the egg, so it can probably be a given that having a smaller radius helps to ensure a clean crack.

eggs

Best Answer

Many sources come out in favor of the "flat surface" method for cracking an egg:

All of these sources say more-or-less the same thing:

The flat-surface method is far less likely to result in broken yolks, or eggshell ending up in the bowl or pan.

While I know many people use the edge-of-bowl method, and a few use the knife method, I couldn't find any sources advocating for those methods. And while Serious Eats advocates for the one-hand method, it is specifically not on the basis of avoiding bits of shell.

And what none of the flat-surface sources had was any evidence to back up their assertions. Even ATK simple baldly states that the flat surface method is better, but does not do any testing with a couple dozen eggs to find out.

So, here's the obligatory answer of "there is no such study", which you can pick if it turns out to be true. Of course, maybe a member of SA is willing to ruin a whole carton of eggs to find out ... here's hoping!

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What is the proper way to crack an egg?

Instructions

Using a clean, flat surface, such as your kitchen counter, grasp the egg in your hand and in one swift decisive motion tap the egg once against it.

Use your thumbs to separate the egg shell where it's cracked and tip the egg into a bowl or ramekin.

How do professionals crack eggs?

The best way to crack an egg is on a flat surface, like a countertop, which will allow the membrane to stay intact, and the smaller shell fragments will stick, while the rest of the egg plops into the intended vessel (via Reader's Digest).

Why should you crack an egg on a flat surface?

\u201cYou rear your thumb and finger back, pushing your thumb forward while pulling your fingers, and that should pull the shell and egg enough to let gravity do the work,\u201d he says. \u201cAs you pull, the weight of the egg will increase the crack you made.\u201d

How To Perfectly Crack An Egg (With One Hand)

More answers regarding how should I crack an egg?

Answer 2

You're right, so many opinions and still no definite answer, supported by s study. I crack eggs both ways (on the edge of a bowl or on a flat surface, whatever I find more handy at the moment). I use a knife only to crack a soft boil egg end separate "the cap". Anyways, I think it's more important to use just the right amount of "force" when cracking an egg. Not too much but just enough to "slightly open the shell" so that the egg white and the yolk don't "escape", but you can easily separate the cracked shell with your fingers (preferably in halves). Practice makes it perfect and there are so many recipes for quick and simple egg dishes, so give them a go and I bet you'll find out what works for you best.

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Ketut Subiyanto