How to Separate an Egg

If you don’t own a device to do the job, separating egg yolks from whites is easy enough with some practice. Read on to learn more.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Raw eggs
• 3 bowls (one for whites, one for yolks, and one for broken yolks or spoiled eggs)

How to Separate an Egg

1. Partially crack an egg around the middle by tapping it on the side of a bowl. Tap 3 of 4 times, slowly turning the egg to create a line around the midsection.

2. Hold the egg over the bowl. Using both hands, carefully separate the two halves of the shell with your thumbs, leaving the contents of the egg in one of the halves.

3. Hold one half of the egg in each hand. Carefully transfer the egg yolk from one half to the other, letting egg whites spill out into the bowl.

4. Once most of the whites have fallen away, empty the yolk from the shell in to a second bowl.

Tips & Warnings

• Practice makes perfect. Don’t get discouraged if you break a yolk.
• If you get egg yolk in your egg white, try fishing it out with the corner of a paper towel moistened with cold water.
• If a yolk is broken beyond repair, pour the egg into a third bowl so as not to contaminate already-separated eggs.
• If there is discoloration or odor, discard the egg immediately.