It seems like a simple task… just boil eggs and mash them up to make curried or yummy creamy egg for sandwiches or salads. But eggs being what they are, nicely smooth and rounded, they forever roll about in the bowl when you try to mash them. If you use a smaller bowl and the fork you usually use doesn’t flatten enough at the bottom to be effective. If you use a bigger bowl then the eggs move around too much.

The answer to easily mashing boiled eggs is startlingly simple:

1. Find a nice clean fork
2. Lay the handle end over the edge of a hard corner like the edge of a heavy piece of timber or a vice. Ensure your chosen surface is hard enough (and not a precious kitchen bench) to withstand a few hits with a hammer
3. With the end of the handle overlapping the edge of the surface with the fork tines faced downwards and the fork held firmly in place, hit the end of the handle with a hammer several times to bend it 90 degrees as shown in the photo
4. Turn the fork around so the tines overlap the hard surface and again hit the overlapping part with a hammer several times to bend it 90 degrees as shown
5. To complete your easy egg masher, hold the now-bent fork upright with the tines flat on the surface and hit the tines a few times with the hammer to flatten them as much as possible

Find a small, high-edged bowl that just fits the number of eggs you have to mash and get smashing!