Mum's 'clever' egg hack allows you to separate the yolk with no mess

Minds across the internet are completely blown by this handy trick. 

Now that we've worked out an "easier" way to slice an onion (success is open to interpretation) and what the small holes on a cheese grater are actually for, we bring you another solution to a common kitchen conundrum. 

How the hell do you separate egg whites? 

Now, before you call me a complete buffoon (yes, I see you in the comments!), I'd like to highlight that we already know about the 'through the fingers' method and the use of shells to do a little dance until there is no egg white left in the shell. 

While both ways work perfectly well, you always end up with sticky fingers. So how about a new way that involves no mess or eggy hands? 

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Let's do this! Image: Leah Goulis / Kidspot

"Clever" way to separate eggs whites and yolks

I stumbled on a tip that involved using a strainer to crack the egg into while I was scrolling online one night. It's where I find all the useless life hacks that I feel the need to try. 

All you need to do is place the strainer over a bowl and crack away. The theory is that the egg whites will slowly drip through the holes on the strainer, leaving only the yolk at the top. Clever, right? 

No messy hands and eggs perfectly separated. 

Naturally, I decided to give it a go. For the sake of science... or at least for a mention on the next series of MasterChef. 

"That is never going to work," my husband declared while watching me go about my business. 

And he wasn't the only doubter. 

"You know you can just use the shell, right?" another friend pointed out. 

But there were a few pals who were keen to see if the hack actually worked. 

One declared: "If this works, I'm going to be so excited. I hate separating eggs... sometimes I avoid recipes that involve it just so I don't have to deal with the rogue broken shell I need to scoop out."

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Simply crack the whole egg into the strainer and watch the whites drip through. Images: Leah Goulis / Kidspot

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But does this hack actually work? 

Before I share the pictures below, can someone please tell my enthusiastic friend above that I have semi-bad news for her? 

OK OK. The hack didn't completely suck. It actually worked fine, but the holes on my strainer were a little on the teeny tiny side which made it difficult for the egg white to drip through easily.

The success of this hack did involve getting my fingers dirty, having to scrap my fingertips on the whites to encourage them to break down. 

After a minute or two, we had reached full separation. But my aggressive hands did allow a little yolk to sneak through to the bottom. Sorry, pavlova. 

Going, going, gone! With only a little yolk managing it's way through. Images: Leah Goulis / Kidspot

So while the hack did work, I don't think it was any faster than the older methods you're currently using when baking.

I guess the questions you have to ask yourself are: 

1. How much do you hate messy hands?
2. How soon do you need those eggs separated? 
3. Do you run out of patience easily?

Originally published as Mum's 'clever' egg hack allows you to separate the yolk with no mess