Separating egg yolk and egg white

flyinglentris

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Cooking with Eggs is all the more interesting when the two components of an Egg are separated, the Yolk and the White. Each has unique flavor and textural characteristics.

The technique for separating Yolk from Egg appears simple enough, using a clean hand (yes a hand) to strain away the white after breaking the Egg and catching the Yolk. The White is allowed to fall into one bowl and the Yolk is then dropped into a second.

As someone who would prefer not to get their hand gooey, I would personally seek a gadget to help in this process. I've seen one example of somebody using a slotted ladle to catch the Yolks. And I've seen Egg Cracker/Opener gadgets that have a built in feature to do the trick.

Once the Yolk and Whites are separated, what can be done with them? Hollandaise Sauce for Eggs Benedict is one example, using the Yolks. Whipped Egg Whites can be used to create a fluffy Sugared Topping for Pies and Cakes. There are probably lots of other things that can be done with either of the two components and it would be interesting to hear about them.

It is a curiosity that begs to be resolved, what do people do with the component that they aren't seeking to use? For example, if one is using the Yolks for Eggs Benedict, what do you do with the Whites? - toss 'em?
 
I throw the white away of my recipe calls for yolk only, like when I make carbonara.

I use this gizmo:

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There are many things you can do with a yolk or egg whites, that's too sad to throw them away!
First, you can store them up to 3 days in the fridge in a sealed box, like this you don't have to use it right away. I know you can also freeze them, but I have never tried yet personally.

-What to do with egg whites: delicious meringues of course! Don't be tricked by their fanciness, French meringue is actually easy to make (it's actually best for your whipped egg whites when they are not too fresh!). You can also do some amaretti cookies, both are easy to make and delicious at the end of the meal with coffee or tea. On the savory side, you can make an egg white omelet, not my favourite personally, but still good, a great way to use a leftover egg white, and it is very appreciated by people doing a lot of sport because it's rich in protein while low in fat (it's the yolk that is fat in an egg). For this reason, you can also use it when you make fish and chips, or chicken nuggets, or anything plunged into a mixed egg and coated with breadcrumbs: add the extra egg white to your mixed full egg and it will be lighter, you can also just use the egg white.

- What do to with yolks: make good food taste even better! You can add a yolk in your mashed potatoes, bechamel or white sauces. On the sweet side, you can make a "pâte sablée" (could never find the English translation for this! It seems to be very similar to shortbread dough) to make cookies or prepare a dough for a pie (which can also be frozen for later), and of course my favourites, crème brûlée ou crème anglaise (vanilla custard) !
 
You can add whites to whole eggs when making omelettes or scrambles. Use whites for meringue, including making pie shells. Angel food cakes or white cakes. Italian buttercream frosting uses just whites. Whites can be kept in refrigerator for several days or frozen. They don't whip up quite as well as fresh, but difference is negligible.
 
It is a curiosity that begs to be resolved, what do people do with the component that they aren't seeking to use? For example, if one is using the Yolks for Eggs Benedict, what do you do with the Whites? - toss 'em?

I throw the white away of my recipe calls for yolk only, like when I make carbonara.

Such a waste to throw them away :eek:

If you know you're going to cook something that only requires yolks, then plan to cook something needing the whites the next day. Or have scrambled eggs or omelette for breakfast or lunch and in add the extra white or yolks.

Egg whites freeze very well - I freeze mine in large ice cube trays for convenience and then bag them up when frozen to save space. Yolks are more difficult because they don't freeze well and but a yolk will keep in the fridge for a day - keep it sealed in a small container to try to prevent it drying out too much. You can add egg yolks to sauces or mashed potatoes, make pasta with them, or use as an egg wash on pastry.
 
The technique for separating Yolk from Egg appears simple enough, using a clean hand (yes a hand) to strain away the white after breaking the Egg and catching the Yolk. The White is allowed to fall into one bowl and the Yolk is then dropped into a second.

I simply crack the egg then hold half a shell in each hand and tip the white into the empty half. A bit of back and forth and its done.
 
Same here - I just use my hand and save what I don't use until later - it usually just gets added to scrambled eggs.
 
You can cure in just salt, a salt/sugar mixture, salt/sugar/spice mixture, some recipes also use the oven at a very low temp. There are lots of recipes, just make sure it's reputable if using.

The yolks can be grated and used on many dishes, pasta, soups, veges, egg dishes to add an extra egg punch.
 
When I was a child my siblings and I didn't like cream, so our mother made what we called 'syrupy cream', which we loved. It was made with whisked egg whites, sugar and syrup and to us was a real treat. Years later I told my mother-in-law about it and she just said, 'Oh, that was something people used during the war'. I felt quite flattened by that and 'syrupy cream' didn't seem so wonderful after all.

I don't really like the thought of separating yolk and white through my hand and much prefer the back and forth between shell halves method.
 
When I made the vanilla cake layer for the cannoli cake, I ended up with 2 egg yolks since the cake only used the whites. Guess what I did with them? Yep, put them in a salt/sugar mix to cure. They will be in the cure until Sunday and then they have to dry either in the oven at a very low heat or in the refrigerator wrapped in cheesecloth for several days. I think carbonara may go on our menu list next week since they are supposed to be a really great thing to grate for that dish, or maybe something with asparagus and eggs.
 
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