bakers, what is the best way to separate egg yolks from whites, when you need to whip the yolks?!


Question: Bakers, what is the best way to separate egg yolks from whites, when you need to whip the yolks?
I have been separating it by tapping it lightly on a flat surface and gently opening it and then carefully using my hands to strain the white out of the yolk. Usually I am sucessful, but once in a while, I do break the egg yolk into the white causing a small amount of yolk to get in. I am able to save it by gently taking the yolks out with a piece of the shell without a problem and it doesn't ruin the recipe, but I do wind up taking a bit of white out during the process, no biggie, but it would be helpful if somebody has an easier way of separating the eggs, this way I could get as much whites possible out of the yolk.

Answers:

I use an egg separator. It's a little plastic gizmo, about the size of a 1/2 cup measuring cup, with slots around a cup in the middle. The yolk goes in the cup, the whites fall out around it. But my mom, who taught me to cook, uses her bare hands! The whites strain between the fingers, you hold onto the yolk. You have to be careful, and it's a little more skill-sensitive. Most people just break the shell in half and then transfer the yolk between the halves.

If you're whipping the whites for a meringue or a souffle or something, you have to be careful because if one tiny bit of the yolk gets into the whites they won't whip up. On TV cooking shows, they tell you to separate the eggs one at a time, into a small bowl, then to add each white to the others in a bigger bowl. That way if you break a yolk and it gets into the whites, you can throw that egg out and do another one. I've never done this because I've never found it necessary.



I don't believe in uni-taskers in the kitchen, so having something like a dedicated gadget to separate eggs seems pointless to me.

The best tip I can offer is to separate the eggs (as you are doing it) right from the fridge. It is much easier and you have less chance of getting any yolk in your white if you separate them when they are cold.



Crack the egg and hold it on a slight angle, then remove the top half of the shell. Some of the white will fall, but not all of it. You can separate it further by passing the yolk from shell to shell. The white will all fall into the bowl and only the yolk will be left in the shell. Very easy.



You are whipping the whites ro the yolks?

There is an extra step you can do. Have a smaller bowls where you seperate the yolks and whites. Then from there you dump Ech white when i is clean.

No matter what you do there are just going to be times when a little yolk in the white. It happenes to everyone.



I use Remy's method, but here's a trick for novices: use a large, slotted serving spoon. Crack the egg into the spoon, over your mixing bowl. With a little jiggling of the spoon, the white will drain through the slots, into the bowl.



IMO...if you do not care about the whites...the absolutely best way is to break the egg in half, cup one of your hands and let the egg whites sift their way through your fingers leaving the yolk in the palm of your hand.

experience.



if you are doing alot of egg white whipping, try the prepackaged egg white cartons. they work well and avoid all the mess.

been cooking and baking over 40 years! yikes!!



When I took baking classes, I could never separate them without mixing the other in. To make my life easier, I just bought an egg separator.



If it's only a few eggs, place an egg cup over the yolk and tilt the container/plate/saucer.




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