Most cooks crack eggs the way we learned growing up, without ever thinking about it. But—especially as holiday baking presents the prospect of cracking dozens—what better time than right now to take a close look at the two common methods? Breaking the shell on the rim of a mixing bowl, or cracking it against the flat surface of a countertop: Is one of them better? Let’s look at the benefits, and drawbacks, of each.
Cooking Tips
Egg-Cracking Showdown: Bowl vs. Counter
It might be time to revisit your cracking technique.
By Published Nov. 9, 2021.
Choose Your Egg-Cracking Style
BOWL | COUNTER | |
|---|---|---|
PROS | PROS More control: The shell usually breaks along the equator.
Cleaner break: The rim of the bowl is more likely to tear the shell’s membrane, making it easier to separate the two halves. | PROS Bigger shards: The countertop spreads the impact over a larger area, so the shell is crushed more gently into larger pieces. These are less prone to separating from the membrane and falling into the egg; any that do are easy to fish out. |
CONS | CONS Smaller shards: The bowl’s narrow edge provides more force at impact, shattering the shell into smaller shards that can be harder to fish out if they fall into the egg and can also possibly puncture the yolk. | CONS Less control: Using a large, flat surface to crack means that the break is more likely to occur in multiple places.
An incomplete break: Often, the egg’s membrane stays intact, requiring you to break it by hand. |
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