Comments on: Unitasker Wednesday: Piercey the egg piercer

By: Dinamo

Dinamo — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:54:40 +0000

I remmember one Easter my granfather wanted to paint on egg shells and he had to pierce the egg and then blow everything out so only the shell remained. Apparently the hole wasn’t big enough, so he turned green and nearly fainted but the damn thing just wouldn’t come out. Grandma had quite a few entertainigh things to say about that.
I now wander if this egg piercer wouldn’t have done the trick?

By: Jeanne Thelwell

Jeanne Thelwell — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:42:56 +0000

You don’t pierce the egg to make it easy to peel, you pierce it to keep it from cracking and dribbling out. The hole goes into the air pocket in the egg, to release the air as it heats. The membrane that separates the egg from the pocket keeps the egg from running out.

To make it easy to peel, you put it in cold water after cooking.

By: Karen in Wichita

Karen in Wichita — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 19:51:47 +0000

Melinda: I live in the city too. It’s not actually that tough, as long as you have *some* yard (and city codes that allow it). If you’re doing it on a seventh-floor apartment balcony, I don’t think it’ll work.

And Christina: Even if you don’t eat them, they’re not necessarily unitaskers. They’re pest control, fertilizer producers, *and* they keep the lawn mown pretty effectively.

By: Erin Doland

Erin Doland — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:07:41 +0000

@K — As a former English teacher, I actually think that the Wiktionary is a better place to go. A dictionary is a recording of words as people use them, it isn’t a law book that dictates how to spell words. Language is a living organism, it changes. The Wiktionary is great because it records usage as it happens. A print dictionary takes years to catch up with trends.

By: K

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:00:29 +0000

Until today I had no idea that such a thing exists. Thank you.

As for the whoa/woah spelling, I do understand that you’re referencing the wiktionary, but I’d like to refer you to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, which gives only the whoa spelling, and not the woah spelling. Wiktionary, while it is a useful tool many times, is still written/edited by the public at large, whereas the Merriam-Webster dictionary is written/edited by a professional staff who are paid to do one thing: to write/edit the dictionary.

And since I’m here harping away on spellings, can I also talk about viola/voila? The viola is a musical instrument, slightly larger than a violin. And just like the violin, its first three letters are v-i-o. Voila, on the other hand, is neither a musical instrument nor spelled with the “i” before the “o.” It’s not walla, it’s not vwalla, and it’s certainly not viola.

(Okay, I’ll shut up now… thank you for letting me get this out.)

By: gayle

gayle — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:37:50 +0000

I never knew there was a solution to cracked eggs. I just try to keep an eye on them so they don’t overcook. I thought it was my poor cooking skills!!

Now I have to try this.

By: mhb

mhb — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:02:18 +0000

HAHA at Christina above.

I’m still stuck in the city so haven’t needed this yet, but we’re planning to have our own laying birds some day so maybe I’ll need to pierce the eggs when they’re fresher.

I usually go to UW for a laugh, but today I learned something, too. Bonus!

By: Christina

Christina — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:42:40 +0000

I think the real question is, is owning your own ducks and chickens a unitasker as well? I mean, they are only good for eggs unless you are eating the birds themselves as well.

(and yes, I am joking)

By: Siouxsie

Siouxsie — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:16:37 +0000

I suspect that every unitasker you post will have some diehard fans or at least a few inquisitive wannabuys. I have been using a thumbtack for a few years now as we used to have a good batch of laying hens and the fresh eggs were norm. Yep, that thumbtack always found its way out of the assigned drawer and I never seemed to have ample supply to replace it…so this would indeed be a helpful little gadget in my household. Though sadly, I’m buying old store eggs that I don’t know what went into. When boiling I poke them anyway out of habit. I will add, it’s far from looney to have your own ducks or hens – self sufficiency is awesome – though you may very well feel it sometimes in tending to those quirky birds =)

By: Jacquie

Jacquie — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:24:23 +0000

My dad had one of these, and when I was looking after him until he passed away I needed to use it so I could get the exact timing for the way he liked his eggs cooked. At home I don’t need to.
The difference is that he insisted that I stored his eggs in the fridge and that they went straight into boiling water. At home I keep my eggs at room temperature and put them in cold water, bring it to the boil and cook for a shorter time.
The hole is tiny so nothing leaks out and it has nothing at all to do with how well the egg will peel after cooking. As someone else said, that depends on how fresh the eggs are.
Very fresh eggs also make the best poached ones if you do them in water not a little dish, as the whites are very thick so they don’t spread as much.

By: Katrina

Katrina — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:36:45 +0000

The little frying pan that company makes with the eggy guy on them are DEATH TRAPS! Ok maybe not death. But, while the size is convenient, its not very good quality so heat travels to the handle (& plastic eggy guy) easily, AND the handle is much closer to the burner than on most pans. Its impossible to use without an oven mit, but clumsy to use with an oven mit. Don’t be tempted by how cute he is!

By: Plaid Ninja

Plaid Ninja — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:37:19 +0000

Forget the fact that this is a unitasker or a POS. I refuse to buy anything that looks as though its ** my food.

By: Alice

Alice — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:35:56 +0000

I eat two boiled eggs every day (favourite food!) and I don’t like them as much when they crack while boiling – those ones get given to the dog. They were cracking perhaps once or twice a fortnight. I was given one of these egg piercers (without the stupid “cute” face), and I LOVE it. I haven’t had a cracked egg since. It’s small, it works perfectly, it’s easy to use, and it sits under the egg cup in the cupboard so it takes up no extra space.

A unitasker isn’t a bad thing if it’s frequently useful.

@April E: The hole is very small so nothing comes out.

By: Sue

Sue — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:44:14 +0000

I work with an ex-chicken farmer, and he says the secret to preventing the white from sticking is to use old eggs. If you’re using fresh eggs, leave them out overnight. No piercing necessary.

By: Peregrin

Peregrin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:38:05 +0000

@April E: I don’t have an egg piercer, but I assume it makes a small enough hole that the uncooked egg wouldn’t be able to leak out.

I might actually try something like this (with a thumbtack first, so I don’t have spend any money on a new gadget). I buy my eggs from Whole Foods and frequently have difficulty peeling them when they’re hard-boiled.

By: Erin Doland

Erin Doland — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:24:43 +0000

@Robbo — If we don’t put the disclaimer my inbox is filled with hate mail from readers asking us why we are promoting a cluttered lifestyle. Honestly, we didn’t use to have a disclaimer and we would receive hundreds of e-mails. Even with the disclaimer I still received about five a week.

@annie — According to a couple of dictionaries, both spellings are appropriate. Here’s an online example: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/woah

By: Kersti

Kersti — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:07:40 +0000

Cool – I’ve been looking for one of these! My mum used to pierce eggs before boiling to stop them cracking while cooking. I’ve had just enough cracked eggs to be on the hunt for a piercer that’s safe and easy to use.

By: Leslie in Canada

Leslie in Canada — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:07:09 +0000

Oh no–my wife brought home one of these yesterday! She complained that she was always misplacing the tacks or pins to pierce the egg and go this to match the little frying pan and egg timers with the chicken face on them. Most Unitaskers are dumb but this doesn’t take up much space, is cute and works fine.

By: Robbo

Robbo — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:44:55 +0000

The comments in the Unitasker posting would be so much more fun if you left out the “this is a joke” disclaimer. Does no one get irony anymore?

By: April E

April E — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:25:02 +0000

OK, call me stupid, but if you pierce the egg before you boil it, doesn’t the uncooked egg come running out of the hole?