Vent: The myth that you need to crack eggs on a flat surface isn't true if you actually know what you're doing

Okay so I was visiting my sister in Nashville last weekend and she made breakfast. She cracks an egg on the edge of the bowl, like normal people do, and her fiancé goes 'you're supposed to crack it on a flat surface, it keeps shells out.' I've heard this myth floating around for years, that cracking on a flat edge pushes shell fragments in or something. But I've been cracking eggs on the bowl rim my entire life and maybe I get a shell piece once every 50 eggs, if that. Meanwhile I tried the flat surface method and ended up with egg running down my counter and a bigger mess to clean. Is this actually backed by anything or is it just one of those kitchen tips that sounds smart but doesn't hold up? Anyone else find the flat surface trick more trouble than it's worth?

3 comments

3 Comments

anna_fox71mo ago

Oh man, that's funny because I had a whole egg disaster last month trying to follow that tip. My mom always cracked eggs on the edge of the pan and I never got shell bits either. I tried the flat surface thing after seeing it on some cooking show and ended up with yolk dripping all over my granite countertop. My cat tried to lick it up and knocked over my coffee mug.

claire_walker1mo ago

My buddy Mark tried that flat surface trick after watching the same show and ended up with shell bits floating in his egg mixture anyway. He swore it was a total waste of time and said his counter got all sticky from the egg white that spread out before he could scoop it up. He went back to cracking on the edge of the mixing bowl and said he hasn't had a shell issue since. I guess it's one of those things where what works for some people just doesn't work for others. Take it with a grain of salt, but I've always done the edge method and never had a problem. Maybe it's just muscle memory after all these years.

simon_coleman1mo ago

Gotta wonder if Mark was even using fresh eggs or if he was trying that trick with older ones where the whites get runny and thin. I mean, fresh eggs hold together way better on a flat surface, but nobody talks about that part when they show it on TV. Was he using straight out of the fridge eggs too or did he let them warm up first? Seems like half the people who fail at this are using cold eggs and the other half are using ones that are weeks old.