Photos show how scrambled eggs can look different depending on how you cook them

Rachel AskinasiJul 30, 2020, 00:54 IST

Insider

I made scrambled eggs using 10 different methods to see how each would turn out.
I compared the methods based on the texture and flavor of the finished egg.
While adding heavy cream made the eggs fluffy, whole milk made them watery.
I was always skeptical of Chef Gordon Ramsay's scrambled-egg recipe, but they turned out delicious.

Fried eggs are a go-to breakfast food for me, along with hard-boiled eggs when I'm in a rush. But before I discovered my love of runny yolks, scrambled was the only way I'd eat eggs as a kid.

There are plenty of ways to cook scrambled eggs and have them come out rich, silky, and creamy. In an effort to find the optimal way to enjoy scrambled eggs, I made the dish using 10 different cooking methods and kept track of the results.

While I gathered tips from different food writers and chefs, I stuck with a simple Food Network recipe as my base to keep things consistent. I used one large egg per batch and cooked each one on a nonstick pan with butter over a very low flame, unless otherwise stated below. Each egg took around one minute to cook, on average. I also tried Chef Gordon Ramsay's method of using a small pot, high heat, and crème fraîche.

From changing the level of heat to adding liquids like heavy cream, here's what happened.

Using a medium flame creates a drier egg.

A scrambled egg made by pouring a beaten egg into a pan with melted butter over medium heat. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

Cooking over low heat made for a creamy, custardy egg.

A scrambled egg made by beating the egg before pouring it into a pan with melted butter over low heat. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

Scrambling the egg in the pan instead of in a bowl beforehand made for a less cohesive dish.

A scrambled egg made by beating the egg in a pan with melted butter over low heat. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

Letting the butter turn brown in the pan affected the color of the eggs more than the taste of them.

A scrambled egg made by pouring a beaten egg into a pan with nearly burned butter over low heat. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

Putting the butter in the pan at the same time as the eggs made for a creamy scramble.

A scrambled egg made by pouring a beaten egg into the pan with butter over low heat. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

Adding heavy cream muted the flavor of the eggs.

A scrambled egg made by beating the egg with heavy cream before pouring it into a pan with melted butter over low heat. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

Adding whole milk to the scrambled eggs made them wet.

A scrambled egg made by beating the egg with whole milk before pouring it into a pan with melted butter over low heat. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

Adding 2% milk was pointless and made for bland, wet, inconsistent eggs.

A scrambled egg made by beating the egg with 2% milk before pouring it into a pan with melted butter over low heat. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

Using vegetable oil instead of butter to grease the pan left the eggs without their custardy texture.

A scrambled egg made by beating the egg with heavy cream before pouring it into a pan with vegetable oil over low heat. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay uses crème fraîche in his scrambled eggs to stop the cooking process and add richness.

A scrambled egg made by using Gordon Ramsay's method of removing and adding heat repeatedly and adding crème fraîche at the end. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

At the end of the day, I learned that scrambled eggs take a lot more care than I imagined to make them delicious.

Each egg had its own unique texture. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

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