Editorial

Front Page - Friday, September 24, 2010

What’ll they dream up next?

EZ Cracker

Misty S. Brown

The EZ Cracker isn’t eggsactly all it’s cracked up to be. While it cracks eggs and separates yolks as it is designed to do, it is rather bulky and not dishwasher safe. The exposed razor blades at the bottom of the egg cradle pose a threat to little hands, so it should be kept out of reach of children. - Misty S. Brown

I am not a chef. You could probably tell that early on when we were asked our favorite recipes in kindergarten and mine was either toast or coffee.
My college suitemates can attest to the fact that I am not chef material when I recount the story of how I tried to boil eggs in the microwave sometime around Easter because I was craving “angeled” eggs. (My late grandmother didn’t like to refer to the Devil when it came to food because everything was made out of love. Even cucumbers and onions in vinegar and sugar water were called “healicopters” instead of helicopters.) After the force of the explosion from the eggs caused the microwave door to fling open and the eggs to scatter all across our living room, while simultaneously throwing a breaker and spreading the smell of sulfur throughout our dorm floor, I put up with a lot of ridicule. Needless to say, I never attempted that again.
I had to laugh one time when my mother and then-stepfather came to visit for my college graduation and I prepared a couple of home-cooked meals for them. The guy I was dating at the time remarked, “When I first met her, she couldn’t even boil water.” I don’t think he was joking.
Luckily I have come a long way from that point. I still have my kitchen mishaps every now and then, but I’m a decent food-preparer for the most part. I recently came across a gadget that I hoped would help prevent a few mishaps in the kitchen – the EZ Cracker.
What it is
The EZ Cracker is a handheld egg cracker and separator.
How it works
Once an egg is loaded into the cradle, you simply squeeze the handle to allow two razor blades under the egg and a lever above it crack your egg in half, releasing the contents but not the shells. An optional egg separator attachment can be added to separate the white from the yolk.
Pros and cons
My first impression about this product is it isn’t eggsactly all it’s cracked up to be, pardon the puns. Sure, it cracks eggs and separates the yolks like it says it will, but come on. Even I, the self-proclaimed domestic dipstick, can crack an egg successfully. So what if an occasional shell gets in the mix? Just pick it out with a fork. And what about the dripping egg goo on the side of your countertop from hand-cracking an egg? You’ll still make a mess with this when you have to unload the shells into the trash.
Now I understand the fact that separating the yolk from the white might be a little more difficult than cracking an egg. I was taught to use the two halves of the egg to shuffle the yolk back and forth between the two sides. The white will separate into the bowl while the yolk stays in the shells. If that’s too hard, you can do a messier method and crack the egg into your hand and let the whites run between your fingers. I’m not too fond of that method because of all the bacteria though.
The EZ Cracker is just too big and bulky for my taste. I have way too much in my kitchen drawers as it is, and this would take up quite a bit of space. It also isn’t effective on boiled eggs.
One bad thing about the EZ Cracker is that it must be washed by hand because it isn’t dishwasher safe. The exposed razor blades pose a threat to bare hands so it isn’t safe for kids and should probably be kept out of their reach.
To me, this device doesn’t save any time or mess. There is still a possibility of getting part of the eggshell in your food, and loading and unloading an egg in the cradle takes more time than cracking one by hand.
One of my coworkers remarked that it looks like a tool used by OBGYNs. Now I’ll have to think of that every time I see it, and that’s not such a pleasant thought.
Where to buy
I found my EZ Cracker in a clearance sidewalk sale at Bed Bath and Beyond for $5.99, which was marked down from $14.99. They are also available at Walgreens for $9.99. Honestly, I wouldn’t waste your money on this. Just give your egg-cracking skills some time and patience and you’ll eventually get it right. This might actually be the first item I’ll return to the store.
Submissions
Send comments and gadget suggestions to misty@dailydata.com.

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