Egg Prickers: Useful or Useless?
Like KIOSK‘s description says: Germans will tell you that it’s impossible to boil eggs without an egg pricker. Indeed, being that my family is comprised partly of off-the-boat German immigrants, I grew up eating boiled eggs that had been violated with an egg pricker.
The egg pricker, for those not in the know, is a device that supposedly keeps eggs from cracking while they’re doing their little boiling water dance, but I’ve eaten many an smooth-shelled boiled egg since growing up and moving away without the benefit of an egg pricker. I live without it, but you can take away my egg cups when you pry them from my cold dead hands.
I’d wager that something like 90% of my acquaintances and colleagues have never seen an egg pricker, much less used one. Have you? If so, has it positively impacted your egg cooking experiences?
I’ve never used one. Some eggs crack, some don’t.
Nope. I’ve never seen one. I thought I was one up because I know, have and use a “pie bird”.
I’ve seen one. I’ve tried to use it. I cracked the egg with the damn thing.
A splash of vinegar in the water means that even if the egg cracks, it stays together rather than leaking out.
It IS useful if you want to have a career as a Ukranian egg painter, though.
I remember one from my childhood, but it must have disappeared somewhere as so many kitchen implements do. . In my head, it ranks with the countertop pasta-boiler for sheer uselessness. My parents still prick their eggs, but with a pin. Same effect from something that takes a fraction of the space.
I believe this picture is next to the definition of “unitasker” in the Alton Brown dictionary. Unitaskers baaaad.
I so want a pie bird now, Toby Wollin.
My mother always made a careful hole in the bottom of our eggs with the tine of a fork. I still do the same thing. Never heard of an egg-pricker, though – not much German in our family.
My egg slicer also had and egg pricker (my new one does not), but we never used it. Don’t like it. Would probably break the eggs.
The best way to do hard-boiled eggs is to actually steam them in a steamer. They always come out perfect!
Luv
Poochie
Have one, use it, love it. Also love my egg cups and my evil-Mickey-Mouse egg decapitator. I lived in Germany for some of my formative years…
My Mum swears by her egg pricker, while I use a knife (because I haven’t got a real pricker). My eggs always fall apart if I don’t pierce that air bit at the blunt end. I’d love to know how so many of you get away without pricking your eggs????
I’m British, had no idea these things were German.
My grandparents always pricked their eggs, Charles. Still do, I imagine. I don’t and never have any problems. Perhaps it has to do with whether one starts the eggs in cold water (like me) or starts them in boiling water (like my grandparents)?