There’s a surprisingly simple way to fish that eggshell out.
Whisk stirring egg yolks in a bowl broken eggshells in a carton nearby
Credit: Simply Recipes / Getty Images
When I’m cooking or baking, there’s one thing that makes me throw up my hands: finding a piece of eggshell in my bowl. Whether I’m making scrambled eggs or a delicate meringue, rogue shell pieces have got to go!
You can usually prevent shell fragments in the first place by cracking eggs on a flat surface. Even so, sometimes an egg splinters rather than cleanly breaking in two, flaking shell into the bowl. Luckily, you’re holding the best tool for removing that chip: another piece of eggshell.
Cracked eggshells next to a bowl of separated egg yolks and whites
Simply Recipes
Fish the Shell Out With This Simple Trick
If you spot pieces of shell in your cracked eggs, dip half an eggshell right under the rogue shell and lift it out. Repeat until your bowl is free of unwanted shells. This trick can be used in any recipe and works whether you cracked one egg or several.
You should avoid using dirty eggshells, which can transfer harmful bacteria like Salmonella into cracked eggs. Supermarket eggs have been washed and sanitized, but it’s still worth being cautious and sticking with visibly clean eggshells. If you have a bowl of separated whites for a meringue recipe, check that the shell doesn’t have yolk on it, which can prevent the whites from becoming voluminous and cloud-like.
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I initially saw this trick in action during one of my first food styling gigs. The lead stylist deftly removed stubborn shell fragments I had been chasing with my finger, and I was so impressed that I filed the tip away. I mentioned it to my mom, an avid baker, and she quickly let me know she’d been doing this for years. It’s not a new trick, but it was new to me!
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This technique works well for a few reasons. The first is that the slightly jagged edge of cracked eggshells can easily break through the surface tension of tight egg whites, pinning the shell bits down rather than pushing them around. It’s also super thin, so if the fragment lands on the thicker, stickier yolk, you can easily glide it right under the piece you’re after without breaking the yolk.
Second, there is a like-attracting-like factor at play. The eggshell and cracked eggs contain compatible proteins, so they don’t repel each other. Sometimes when removing a shell bit, it almost looks like the larger shell piece is magnetic, pulling the fragments towards it. But there is no sorcery. It’s simply the natural attraction of two similar materials.
I Have Backup Methods, Too
If you discover a piece of shell in the bowl after you’ve tossed your eggshells, try another removal method. For one or two eggs, I’ve found that a wet fingertip (it has to be wet because the water breaks the surface tension) or a pair of long kitchen tweezers will trap the pieces within a few attempts.
If you have a big bowl of eggs for quiche or frittata recipes, pour the cracked eggs into a fine-mesh strainer set over a large bowl. Then, press them through the strainer with a flexible spatula, trapping the shell bits. This is what I did as a restaurant line cook during busy brunch shifts when time was of the essence.
These alternate methods will get the job done, but once you use the eggshell trick, you’ll never want to do it another way.
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