This post is a bit of a quickie.  A tutorial on how eggs were separated, yolk from the white with out using a plastic egg separating device.  I know these an be bought in the store and are soooo convenient.  Period wise not so much.

Now this works with most eggs.  I’ve found organic eggs have a thicker shell and tend to fragment a bit more then the generic white egg.

The first step is to gather your egg(s) and a small bowl.  Place the bowl under the egg and give the egg a quick sharp tap on the shell (as close to the middle as possible).

Open the egg and let the whites fall into the bowl, while holding the yolk in one half of the shell.

In this picture there is a good bit of white left with the yolk.  Tip the half shell, and the whites should fall into the bowl leaving behind the yolk.  The 2nd half of the shell can be used to cut along the whites, severing between the yolk and whites.

The yolks are safe to use in a sealed container for about 24 hours in the fridge.  The whites can be frozen for a few weeks or left in a sealed container for 3-5 days.

This is the method I use for separating out an egg yolk and whites.  I have seen a spoon extract the yolk, but this requires a deftness I’m not quite comfortable with.  I’ve also seen a complicated use of shell spoon and cup to separate everything, a bit production and wasted motion.  (an entertaining video on Youtube though)  However just using the shell is probably the most simplistic and most period method.  If for some reason you are not comfortable with this, get an egg separator for those times when a recipe calls for until you’re willing to experiment with just using an egg shell and break a few eggs and yolks.