How to Separate Eggs

Do you have a recipe that calls for egg yolks or whites only?  How do you separate your eggs?  I have tried many methods, shown below, but one thing is certain.  You must keep them separate if you want them to whip properly.  One speck of yellow will prevent your whites from peaking.

When separating eggs, I use three containers:  One to keep the whites in, one for the yolks and one to separate over (sometimes that becomes a fourth, if I break a yolk).

Some options:

Ceramic egg separator:  Crack the egg into the vessel and "pour" the yolk out.  These work okay, depending on the size of the hole.  Too large, the yolk comes out.  Too small, not all of the white separates.

Spoon-Like egg separators:  I have had all manner of these egg separators - metal, plastic, ceramic - some worked okay, but they have the same issues as the ceramic egg separator.

Wire Funnel type:  Looks like a beehive at the end of a spoon.  

Shell to shell:  This can work well, but it takes practice to avoid breaking the yolk on the rough of the shell.  This was my preferred method, until recently.

My preferred method is messy and requires one of three things.  You need help, the ability to crack an egg one handed or you need to crack the eggs ahead of time and put them in a cup.  The third option isn't bad, if you only need one or two.  If you are making an angel food cake, you need 12, do your really want to wash all of the extra dishes?

So, my preferred method is a hand.  Yes, you read that correctly, your very own hand.  You can use your fingers to manipulate the yolk and you get the most possible white separated.  Just remember - if you are wearing rings, to take them off if they are sharp.

This may not be the method for you, but it is definitely the most egg efficient in my book.