How to Use Your Leftover Egg Yolks

What’s the one thing that egg white frittatas, meringues, and pavlovas have in common? They call for an overwhelming amount of egg whites, leaving you with a bowl full of leftover egg yolks. Leftover egg whites are easy—save them in a container for tomorrow’s scramble. Done and done. But using egg yolks is a bit trickier. You probably aren’t inclined to make a 30-egg yolk omelet for breakfast (if you are, you’re amazing and we support your choices). And most people are unsure about how to store egg yolks, so the bowl filled with leftover egg yolks usually ends up wasting away at the bottom of the garbage.

Storing egg yolks is as easy as tossing them in the trash. If you plan to use the yolks within a couple of days, you can keep them in the fridge. Just place them in an airtight container with some cold water. The water prevents the yolks from coagulating and drying out. If you don’t plan to use them immediately, you can freeze leftover egg yolks, but you should mix them with a bit of salt or sugar to prevent gelling. For every six yolks, whisk in ½ teaspoon of salt or sugar, divide the mixture in an ice cube tray, cover, and freeze.

You can do several things with extra egg yolks depending on how much time you have and your willingness to experiment. Take for instance, condiments made with egg yolks. You can whip up a batch of homemade mayonnaise, aioli, or hollandaise sauce in ten minutes flat (five if you nix the whisk and make hollandaise in the blender).

Egg yolks are also perfect for making fruit curd. Seriously, switch up your yogurt with lemon curd for a sweeter, more indulgent, morning parfait, and never look back.

If the extra yolks are still whole, make salt-cured egg yolks. It takes a week to cure, but once time passes, you’ll be able to grate the yolks to add rich depth and brightness to any meal.

Last but not least, if you’re not into any of those ideas, you can always save a few bucks by moisturizing your hair with leftover yolks instead of a purchasing a fancy leave-in conditioner. Seriously!