My Favorite Method for Scrambling Eggs Isn't What I Predicted

This is no time to be making inferior scrambled eggs—each shell must be cracked with a purpose and cooked to perfection. While you’ve probably scrambled a good few eggs in your time, it’s important to know that there are multiple ways to set up your scramble, and each way delivers a different result. Find out if you’ve actually been scrambling up the perfect egg, or if you need to switch your method. 

Heat and added ingredients

There are plenty of ingredients that can alter the texture of your eggs, so I wanted to keep the components consistent to zoom in on which texture results from each scrambling tool (whisk, fork, immersion blender, and jar shaking). 

The addition of mix-ins like chopped meat, herbs, or cheese and using water, milk, cream or nothing at all can change things (some more than others). Of course, it depends on what you’re hungry for that day, but I will say this: too much of any liquid can lead to rubbery scrambled eggs. In an effort to evaporate the excess moisture you may resort to cooking the eggs longer and the proteins will constrict until they’re tight and chewy. Always use a small amount if you use any liquid at all, about a teaspoon per two eggs.

If you’re completely starting from scratch with how you like to cook scrambled eggs, then you might want to read a bit more about cooking them low and slow or hot and fast. Low and slow can lead to more custardy eggs with tiny, porridge-like curds. Hot and fast will give you larger hunks of egg. 

How to scramble your favorite eggs

In these tests I prepared the mixture the same way every time—two eggs with a half-teaspoon of heavy cream and a pinch of salt—and cooked them in a lightly buttered pan over low heat just bridging on medium. I was surprised to note the results. There is no wrong scrambled egg, by the way. Some folks like them dry and some like them custardy. Either way, here’s how to achieve the best one for you. 

Regular fork scramble

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

I expected this to yield the most clumpy egg, and firm pieces. Surprisingly, a classic fork scramble for 20 to 30 seconds yields a soft, medium curd. Compared to the immersion blender and the whisk, fork scrambling is actually a pretty gentle way to handle your eggs. The eggs ended up tender and silky. 

Immersion blender

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

 As expected, running the immersion blender for 30 seconds created a heavily aerated mixture—the egg liquid nearly doubled in volume in that short blending time. This resulted in quick-cooking, fluffy ribbons of egg. The fine bubbles cooked quickly along the sides of the pan and naturally I’d swipe along the sides to stir them into the center. This scramble was more firm and fluffy and the texture was light.

Shake ‘em in a jar 

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

I don’t usually shake my eggs, but I might start. My eggs, salt, and cream went into a small jar (an old amarena cherry jar from Trader Joe’s. IYKYK.) and I shook the heck out of it for about 30 seconds (with the lid on, of course). Even though I shook it vigorously, this method is one of the more gentle scrambling methods. Instead of using a metal tool, which adds air to the mix, the jar contains the eggs as they break up against the walls.

This scramble was soft and silky, even more so than with using a fork. It’s easier to get small curds with this mixing style. I didn't go full-porridge here, but if you do like a creamy, porridge consistency then you should start jar-shakin’ and cook them on very low heat.

Whisked

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

I expected whisked eggs to be similar to fork-scrambled, but things turned out differently again. Quickly whisking my eggs led to similar results to using the immersion—firm, fluffy ribbons. You can see that the ribbons are shorter (more like chips) than what the immersion blender produced. I could argue that they were less firm than the immersion, but if I had to do a blind taste test, I’d probably confuse the two. 

The pattern from these four tests comes down to aeration. The more you agitate your eggs and add air bubbles to them, the fluffier and firmer they will be. Obviously the immersion blender has a lot of power behind it so you’ll get plenty of foam with an appliance like this. The whisk is designed to whip air into liquids so, again, more foam. 

The more gentle you are with your scramble—a four-tined fork or a simple shake—keeps your egg mixture tender and silky, with fewer bubbles incorporated. I thought I’d be immersion blending my scramble from here on out, but I very well might become a jar shaker. Life is unpredictable, isn’t it?

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