The Slotted Spoon Hack That Makes Separating Eggs A Total Breeze

For almost as long as humans have been around, we've been eating eggs. In fact, historians estimate that people have been eating them for around 6 million years, which has given us a lot of time to figure out ways to use them. From breakfast omelets to soups and even burger toppings, you can get a protein boost anytime with just one egg. They're easy to cook and still fairly inexpensive. But eggs are not without their faults. Many recipes call for separated eggs, for instance, which isn't easy without the right tool. You don't need to buy any special equipment to separate eggs, however, as long as you have a slotted spoon.

Whether you've got a meringue to make or you need a bunch of yolks for a hollandaise sauce, a slotted spoon can make quick work of separating a dozen or more eggs in just a few minutes. Plus, you never have to get your hands dirty or worry about getting bits of shell in the bowl.

There are lots of ways to separate eggs. Some people have single-use tools to do the job, and others simply use their hands. But nearly every kitchen has at least one slotted spoon, if not more, and they are the perfect tool for the job. Slotted spoons made for cooking are just shallow enough to contain a single egg at a time without letting it slide away. The slots are usually large enough to allow the whites to pass through while also catching the yolks.

To use the slotted spoon hack, all you have to do is crack an egg into a bowl. Next, hold your slotted spoon over a bowl with one hand (if you can place your spoon over the bowl without holding it, you can use two hands for the egg). Then, pour the egg into the basket of the spoon. The white should pass through the slots easily, but if it doesn't, just give the spoon a gentle jiggle from side to side.

If you could use a visual, check out this TikTok:

@thejoshelkin

Egg Hack Breakfast Sandwich.

♬ original sound – Josh Elkin

Using a slotted spoon is so easy that you really don't need to do any other prep; just crack and separate as needed. With that said, there are some tips that make egg separating easier. First, make sure that your egg is cold. Eggs that come right out of the refrigerator work better because the yolk is firmer. Also, try to use eggs that are fresher. As eggs age, their proteins start to break down, and they become runny. When you try to separate the yolks from the whites of older eggs, the yolk can be soft enough to fall apart and pass through the slots, so save older eggs for whole-egg recipes and scrambling.

Finally, you can use any kind of slotted spoon to separate eggs, depending on what you have on hand. A slotted spatula or even a pasta spoon will work in a pinch. Metal and plastic utensils work a little better than wooden spoons, however, because egg whites like to stick to the porous surface of the wood, and it'll be harder to get it to slide through the slots. If all you have is a wooden spoon, however, just run it under some cold water for a few seconds, which will make the surface more slippery.