The master of French cooking never boiled eggs without doing this one thing first.

When I think of Julia Child, I think of her dancing a raw turkey around her kitchen counter.

She dutifully studied and tested methods to ensure she offered up foolproof tips to her readers.

Cut out of Julia Child holding eggs in her hand on an orange background and halved boiled eggs on the counter

Simply Recipes / Photo Illustrated by Wanda Abraham / Getty Images

Luckily, Julia has a foolproof way to prevent this issue.

Julia recommends using an egg pricker or, if youre not into retro single-use gadgets, a push pin.

Insert the point into the base of the egg about 3/8 of an inch.

A hard boiled egg, cut in half on a small pink plate

Simply Recipes / Laurel Randolph

Place the pin in the center of the bottom of the egg facing straight up and push.

Believe it or not, I havent had an egg break this way yet.

Two that stuck out to me and that Ive added to my egg-cooking routine are:

Hands holding an egg with a push pin pressed into the end

Simply Recipes / Laurel Randolph

two hard boiled eggs with cracked shells floating in water in a pot

Simply Recipes / Laurel Randolph