5 eggs-pert tips for cooking with eggs

TEST THEIR FRESHNESS

The best way to check is to place the eggs in a bowl of cold water. The higher they float, the older they are (a fresh egg will sink to the bottom). When boiled, fresh eggs will have their yolk perfectly in the middle.

GET CRACKING

Instead of cracking your eggs on the edge of a dish or pan, gently tap them on a flat surface, such as a counter or chopping board. This stops pieces of shell from being pushed into the egg. Then simply insert your thumbnails into the indentation and break open the egg.

GIVE THEM A HAND

To separate eggs, rather than juggling yolks and whites between two halved shells, crack each egg into one of your hands and let the white run through your fingers into a bowl, then place the yolk in a second bowl.

BE PATIENT WITH THOSE OMELETTES

Let the beaten egg cover the base of the pan and cook for several minutes until the mixture has almost cooked through. Then add the fillings before the all-important fold: run a spatula around the edges of the omelette to loosen it, then slide the spatula under the centre and flip it over the other half before to cooking it for a few more minutes in the pan or oven.

START BOILED EGGS IN HOT WATER

Opinions differ, but the TASTE team’s verdict is that cooking room-temperature eggs in boiling water and dropping them into iced water after the desired cooking time makes it much easier to peel off the shells than starting them in cold water.

Browse our best egg recipes here.