Bittman Basics

11 Things to Add to Scrambled Eggs

The most versatile of dishes

Mark Bittman
Heated
Published in
2 min readMar 23, 2020

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Photo: Romulo Yanes

Here’s a foolproof way to make sure the texture of your scrambled eggs is exactly how you like it.

Crack the eggs on a flat, hard service and open them into a bowl. You can add a little milk or cream to make the scrambled eggs silkier and less eggy tasting. But don’t add too much or they might get watery. Figure 1 tablespoon for every 2 eggs.

Sprinkle with some salt and pepper and whisk until the yolks and whites are just combined.

Put the butter or oil in a medium skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium-high heat. Add the eggs when the butter is foaming, but not yet changing color, or the oil thins a bit and just begins to shimmer.

Pour the eggs into the pan. Let the eggs cook for just a few seconds to heat up, then begin stirring frequently and scraping the sides of the pan. The more you stir — and the lower the heat — the silkier the eggs. Moving the pan on and off the burner is the fastest way to control the temperature. If you’re going to add anything, like chopped herbs or grated cheese, wait until the eggs just start to set.

As the eggs begin to curdle, some parts may look like they’re drying out; whenever you see that, remove the pan from the heat and…

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Mark Bittman
Heated

Has published 30 books, including How to Cook Everything and VB6: The Case for Part-Time Veganism. Newsletter at markbittman.com.