Scrambled eggs are a common breakfast item, and possibly one of the easiest to make. Not as easy to get right as an omelette, but they’re still doable on a busy weekday morning.
You’ve heard of people adding milk to their scrambled eggs, and you may be wondering if that’s necessary. Or if it’s the absolute key to getting fluffy scrambled eggs.
So do scrambled eggs need milk ? Is there any other way to get them right ? This is what we’ll be discussing today, and them our best tips on how to get the perfect scrambled eggs.
Do scrambled eggs need milk ?
No, scrambled eggs don’t need milk in order to remain fluffy. They need low heat and to be continuously stirred and folded into themselves. This way they won’t dry out, ad can remain fluffy. As long as you ship the eggs thoroughly you should get a reasonably soft batch of scrambled eggs.
Milk adds moisture to eggs
When adding milk to eggs you do two things: you thin them out, and add more moisture. Both of these mean a longer cooking time, and more moisture that needs to evaporate. You don’t need a lot of milk, just a tablespoon for every 2 eggs or so. Any more than that and you’ll have a really difficult time cooking the eggs.
All that extra moisture will result in scrambled eggs that are simply wet, no creamy. There are better, simpler ways to get your scrambled eggs nice and soft and cooked just right.
Add some butter to scrambled eggs
The way to get your scrambled eggs right is to add some butter to them. Add as much butter as you would for an omelette, maybe a bit more. Whisk the hot butter into the eggs in the pan, until most of it is incorporated. Make sure the heat is low or medium-low.
Read also: Why Is My French Toast Soggy ?
As the lowest layer of eggs cooks on the bottom, stir to let the runny eggs touch the hot pan. Continue stirring every few seconds, and please make sure there is enough butter added. If the eggs stick to the pan it’s not enough, add more.
Adding creme fraiche at the end cools eggs down
The root of the whole ‘milk in scrambled egg’ phenomenon can be traced to adding cream, heavy cream, or creme fraiche to scrambled eggs. This was done to simply stop the eggs for overcooking, and it was always a very small amount and always added last, with the pan off the heat.
The result would be warm scrambled eggs, with a nice richness from the cream. Keep in mind creme fraiche is not sour cream. It’s a thicker, unfermented type of cream.
Tips on getting the best scrambled eggs
Getting scrambled eggs perfect isn’t easy if you’re working with a mostly dry pan and you can’t stand runny eggs. There is a lot of variation in the texture of the perfect scrambled egg, and often there will be bits that are not dry, but rather a little creamy. We’re getting ahead of ourselves, so let’s start with the first tip.
1. Use butter or enough lubrication
We cannot stress enough how important it is to use the proper amount of butter, and lubrication in general. Eggs are very tricky, so you definitely need use enough butter to do two things:
- emulsify them so they don’t turn dry and rubbery on you
- grease the pan even after the eggs have absorbed some butter
Yes that does mean a good amount of butter. You can do half butter half cooking oil if you don’t want o use as much butter. If you’re wondering just how much you need, we recommend a tablespoon of butter for every 2 eggs in that scramble.
Some butter will be leftover in the pan, but your life will be made much easier and the eggs will not dry out. The curds will still form, but they won’t be as dry.
2. Cook eggs on medium-low heat
No eggs ever need to be cooked on high heat ! Always use low or medium low, even when having sunny-side up eggs. A low heat gives you much better control over how much you cook the protein (whites) and how much you dry out the fatty part (yolk).
For scrambled eggs this gives you a perfect pan that will cook the eggs as they touch it, but not overcook it. So there is less frantic stirring and folding. You get a more controlled, even cooking.
3. A few creamy curds are okay
This brings us to the final point. When cooking eggs you’re likely cooking them too long, because you might be thinking a cooked egg should not be runny or creamy. And that’s true when it comes to traditional breakfast eggs.
But when you whisk hot butter into the egg, that emulsion cooks the eggs. And each curd you look has an outer skin, that is cooked through. Even fi the middle is a bit creamy, it’s more like a French omelette. It’s cooked, but a bit differently.
If you keep cooking the curds until they’re not creamy, or worse until they develop a brown crust (like American omelettes) you’re drying them out too much.
So all three of these tips: a whole lot of butter, low heat, and leaving a few egg curds slightly creamy will get you those soft, fluffy scrambled eggs you’re longing for. Even if you can’t stand creamy curds, adding a lot of butter will ensure they don’t dry out completely so they might still be good.
Read Also: How To Know When Scrambled Eggs Are Done
Why are my scrambled eggs green ?
Greenish scrambled eggs are a sulfur reaction to overcooking on high heat, it’s the yolk’s reaction. Just like hard boiled eggs, when the outer ring forms. This is simply the way sulfur compounds – plenty of them in eggs – react when they combine with the hydrogen also present in eggs.
This effect is much harder to obtain when making scrambled eggs, because you need high heat for an extended amount of time. When boiling an egg, this can easily happen because all you can rely on is time since the eggs started boiling.
With scrambled eggs you can easily see when the eggs are done cooking.
And that’s it, you now know how to make the perfect scrambled eggs ! Don’t bother adding milk, simply add enough butter and use a low heat and your scrambled eggs will turn out perfect.
