I will not lie—being a meals author is a reasonably nice gig. But being the companion of a meals author? Now, that is a comfortable job. You get all of the perks of the function (testing scrumptious recipes, attempting new and thrilling merchandise, the checklist goes on), with out having to do any of the heavy lifting behind it. The solely con is you’ve got fairly the critic in your house, which may making one thing so simple as cooking dinner a frightening activity. I’m fortunate sufficient to have a boyfriend who not solely greets the problem, however tackles it with aplomb. In truth, I’m mature sufficient to confess he even makes some dishes higher than me.
These days, when the morning rolls round, I do not even set foot within the kitchen as a result of truthfully, he makes the very best scrambled eggs I’ve ever had. And shh—do not inform him—however I’m sharing his secret ingredient.
My Boyfriend’s Secret to the Best Scrambled Eggs
Look, I do know I’m not the primary individual to get on the web and inform you all of the methods you’ve got been making scrambled eggs flawed—or the right way to make them higher. I’m not even the primary individual at Allrecipes to assert their companion makes the “finest” scrambled eggs. But my boyfriend’s method is one you possibly can apply to any scrambled egg recipe, with any mix-ins—be it cottage cheese, crème fraîche, and even panko.
He first discovered this tip from J. Kenji López-Alt, the best-selling cookbook writer, chef, and culinary scientist. Like Julia Child, López-Alt is a kind of cooks who has essentially modified the best way we prepare dinner all the things from easy tomato sandwiches to crispy oven-roasted potatoes. That’s as a result of Kenji dives into the meals science behind recipes, and dissects the hows and “whys” of what makes them work. And this scrambled egg tip is a spark of pure science-backed genius.
According to a 2021 New York Times column he penned, López-Alt discovered this tip from meals blogger and cookbook writer Mandy Lee. Lee stumbled upon this trick when attempting to get her sick canine to eat one thing, and all it’s is including a starch slurry to the egg combination earlier than scrambling it.
Why You Should Add Cornstarch to Scrambled Eggs
You’ve possible made a cornstarch slurry earlier than to rapidly thicken a sauce or gravy. But right here, the cornstarch (or potato or tapioca starch) and water combination do not thicken the eggs—they preserve them tender and creamy. Without getting too deep into the science of all of it (I’ll depart that to Kenji), the cornstarch helps the eggs retain their moisture whereas cooking, whereas additionally retaining the proteins in eggs from linking to rapidly, subsequently retaining them tender. It’s a course of much like velveting hen or beef, which is a conventional course of in Chinese cooking, and the way meat stays moist and tender even in high-temperature cooking like wok stir-fries.
But this is why I actually find it irresistible; I’m not a fan of tremendous moist or runny scrambled eggs. However, dry and rubbery scrambled eggs are by no means one thing anybody ought to eat. Adding cornstarch to scrambled eggs permits you to prepare dinner them a bit longer—simply these 30 seconds make all of the distinction between too-raw and completely cooked eggs—with out them drying out or getting powerful.
How to Make Tender Scrambled Eggs
Allrecipes/Courtney Kassel
My boyfriend has adjusted the method a bit from Kenji’s recipe barely. He makes use of a few teaspoon of cornstarch to a bowl for each two eggs. Then he provides simply sufficient chilly water (although you possibly can swap milk in, for those who want) to moist the combination right into a slurry, a few 1/2 tablespoon, and whisks that collectively earlier than including the eggs and scrambling them within the bowl. If he is making them extra-decadent, he follows Kenji’s full recipe and provides tiny pats of chilly butter into the combination, too.
From there, you possibly can prepare dinner them nevertheless you want. He likes to begin with a chilly, nonstick pan, then add a little bit of butter earlier than including the eggs. He stirs them with a spatula gently and steadily, and for me, cooks them till they’re simply dry all through, however for those who like a softer scramble, cease everytime you like. I assure this easy addition provides you with the very best, most tender scrambled eggs but. And for those who’re something like me, you may train your companion the right way to make them, so that you, too, can keep in mattress these further couple of minutes on Sunday morning.
