The Secret Ingredient That Takes Scrambled Eggs to New Heights

The key to creamier, softer scrambled eggs according to J. Kenji López-Alt.

I've created many scrambled eggs , however, the finest recipe originates from Mandy Lee of the impressive food blog Lady & Pups as shared through J. Kenji López-Alt, transforming my previous understanding of how to make perfectly creamy scrambled eggs. Kenji revealed Mandy’s revolutionary method for crafting some of the silkiest scrambled eggs you'll ever taste. The New York Times .

The saying "necessity is the mother of invention" perfectly encapsulates how my favorite scrambled egg recipe came about. While browsing through various online articles, I discovered that this culinary innovation occurred when Mandy was looking after her ill canine companion featured in her blog titled “Pups.” In an attempt to make a sticky mixture to entice her dog to eat, she added some flour to her eggs. Unexpectedly, these makeshift pet-food concoctions resulted in the smoothest, most custardy scramble she'd ever tasted. Moreover, they needed minimal mixing and were ready within just two minutes.

The secret lies in making a mixture of cornstarch and milk, which you should blend with whisked eggs prior to cooking. Although Kenji suggests using potato or tapioca starch, cornstarch might be easier for you to find at home. I have experimented with both potato starch and cornstarch myself. Despite finding that potato starch provided a marginally better consistency, the distinction was not very pronounced.

For four eggs, Kenji uses two teaspoons of cornstarch mixed with 1 1/2 tablespoons of milk—water or half-and-half would work as alternatives.

The starch binds with the protein, preventing the eggs from getting overcooked and rubbery. Also, the starch ensures no water leaks out of the eggs once they are cooked through—every breakfast cook's worst nightmare is solved!

Kenji pushes this ingenious advice even further by incorporating small cubes of butter into the egg mixture. He distributes some of the butter in the pan and emulsifies the rest with the eggs. During cooking, these pieces of butter gradually melt, resulting in eggs that are wonderfully tender, airy, and rich.

Although I wouldn’t have come up with this concept myself, it’s brilliantly straightforward. They say hindsight is always clear! Whenever creamy textures come to mind, pudding naturally springs to mind. Eggs and a starchy component are essential for making great pudding. Even though these scrambled eggs won't taste anything like pudding, their consistency will be quite similar. Slow-cooking eggs at a low temperature while continuously stirring could yield a comparable result; however, this clever shortcut significantly cuts down on time and effort. It’s definitely worth giving it a shot.

Read the initial article on Simply Recipes .