As I was making mayo yesterday afternoon, I decided on a whim to try and crack the eggs like Giada De Laurentiis on Food Network.
Have you ever seen Giada crack eggs? I saw her making a cheesecake over the weekend and watched in amazement as she effortlessly pushed her thumbs simultaneously into each egg creating a small hole that was easily pulled apart into 2 egg halves.
This approach didn’t work so well for me.
As I started to apply pressure to the egg, I realized that the shell was so hard that my thumbs couldn’t make any headway.
I should have stopped right there. Taking a step back for a moment to contemplate the situation would clearly have been the smart thing to do.
But noooooo.
My stubborn side kicked in and I pushed even harder and then HARDER until finally my thumbs lobotomized the egg creating a small explosion of egg white and yolk into my hair, blouse, and face as well as the kitchen counter and the floor!
Smart move, I thought sheepishly. Why in the world was this so difficult? Giada made it look so easy!
Then, it hit me. Giada’s eggs are not the quality, local, free-range eggs I get where the shells are quite hard. Effortlessly pushing one’s thumbs into the shell to crack these types of eggs is basically not a possibility (unless, of course, making a mess is your goal).
Giada’s eggs are most likely regular old store eggs with soft shells where a made for TV demonstration showing how to crack an egg is quick and easy.
At least, that’s what I told myself to soothe my sore ego.
So, the next time you see Giada crack her eggs so perfectly on Food Network, remember: “Don’t try this at home! This stunt is strictly for Food Network professionals who use grocery store eggs!”
Oh, and white sugar.
Hmmm. White salt too, come to think about it.
Oh, yeah. Almost forgot about the Teflon pan with the metal spatula and the Springform pans. YIKES!
I’ll stick with being an amateur, thank you. At least I know how to not poison myself while cooking.
Too funny! My kid and I have been having the same problem as Jacqualine. How the heck DO you peel a hard-boiled egg so that you get those pretty eggs? (This is why I never make deviled eggs – cuz they look horrible! LOL!)
The pastured eggs really do have a much thicker shell, and the shells are not all the same color or size. I am now addicted and have 2 eggs overeasy every morning, fried with coconut oil. yum.
I have crushed many an egg when I haven’t sufficiently cracked it on some very hard surface. Sigh. Those shells are very hard! However, later, I take them outside and let the kids crush what’s left into the garden. The plants like that. 🙂
This is too funny! When I first switched to pasture eggs I thought I’d never get to eat a fried egg again because I kept breaking the yolks! But I finally got the hang of it and i’ll never get over the bright orange that pours out when I take my first bite. Yum!
HA!!! I learned about the harder shells after trying to peel my hard boiled eggs for the first time since switching. They weren’t pretty but sure tasted good 🙂
Question (or 3): I have been replacing my pantry with real foods as I need them. I have researched salt and have NO CLUE where to start. Is there a salt that you recommend that would work for my baking needs and well as a table salt? Or do you use different ones for each? AND where is the best place to get it (I don’t have a store around that sells real, natural food).
Thanks!!!
Hi Jacqualine, I’ve done a quick video in the past about how to choose a healthy salt:
https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/2010/05/video-choosing-healthy-salt/
Check out my Resources page for where to mail order .. Wilderness Family has 6 different kinds of sea salt:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=as_li_qf_sp_sr_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=aps&keywords=Real%20Salt&linkCode=as2&tag=theheahomec0a-20
Jacqualine,
DH likes fine salt in a shaker so I buy Redmond’s Real Salt (Sarah uses it, too). I have since quit the shaker and just have it in a little bowl and you use your fingers to take as much as you need. I love that!!
I also buy gray Celtic salt (coarse) to use in cooking – I order from Azure Standard (along with other things). I just got my order in yesterday along with a salt grinder. It grinds the coarse salt into a fine salt really nicely and I don’t have to spend the big bucks for finely ground Celtic salt.
HTH,
Magda
Love it! That is SO something that I would do. And yes, we may not be able to do those cool tricks like the egg cracking in the kitchen but we can feel much better about what we are feeding our bodies. 🙂
Ha, you made me giggle picturing the egg explosion in your hair! I do lots of one-handed egg cracking with a baby on my other hip. But, yeah, it doesn’t work so well either with the thick shells on our eggs. Thanks for the morning giggle.
lol, too funny.
We have to relearn a lot of things when we go to Real Food, don’t we? 🙂
Your made me laugh. The first time I bought pastured eggs from a local farmer, I was shocked. The shells are so hard. I still haven’t learned to crack them easily, and I often get egg shells in the bowl with the eggs. That never happened with the soft white shells of store-bought eggs.
Happens to me ALL the time! It’s also a tad harder to peel the egg from a hard boiled egg because for some reason the older the egg, the easier the shell brakes away. My aunt told me that at Easter after I was complaining about peeling the eggs. I said “well that must be it then because these eggs were laid two days ago about 4 miles from my house”. I still think we’re the winners though.
A trick to getting the shell off of fresh pastured eggs that have been hardboiled….before you place the eggs in the water for boiling you take the more pointed end of the egg & “slightly” tap the end just till you hear a slight crack. You should not be able to see the crack….then boil as usual & the shells will come off much easier when your done hard boiling. The 1st time I tried this I cracked two eggs too much & some of those eggs seeped out while boiling, but all the other eggs were finely cracked & it worked like a charm.
Angela,
Just tried your method and HEY!!! Much better. I tapped the pointed end alittle then boiled, cooled them off quickly with cold water and ice and they do come off a lot easlier. One of the eggs I tapped too hard and some white seeped out and although it looked deformed, it peeled easy too. I think this will be my “go to” way to make hard boiled eggs. Thanks!
Hi Teresa. Glad it worked for you! I over cracked two eggs the first time I tried this method & those two eggs were deformed but usable too 😉 I have also peeled the eggs days later after hard boiling & the shells continue to come off well. I had tried every other thing like baking soda, vinegar, etc. & this is the only method that has consistently worked for my super fresh eggs. I think credit goes to the Amish, as I read about this being an old Amish secret. Glad it worked for you!!
You know my Mom actually told me the same trick only done a little differently. I also learned that if you cool them down right away it helps as well. I will have to try this tip too! Maybe do a comparison.