How do you scramble your eggs?

The other day, my kids were watching me make an omlet for their breakfast. They saw me crack some eggs into a bowl, take a fork and mix them up for a few minutes, adding a few tablespoons of water and mixing a little more. As a result of watching cooking shows on TV, I assume, they commented that "everyone else" omits the mixing-in-a-bowl-with-a-fork process and mixes right in the cooking pan. Have I been doing it all wrong for 35 years? How do you scramble your eggs?

Either in a bowl like you or in a Tupperware plastic shaker. Don't add any additonal liquid to scrambled eggs but do add milk or cream to omlets. For scrambled I add salt, pepper, and granulated onion powder along with a tbl of butter for every two eggs.

I scramble eggs with a fork in a pan, but in a bowl with a bit of water for omelets.

I scramble in a bowl, Jon. Since I use a Teflon pan, scrambling in the pan doesn't strike me as a wise move.

Mark Lipton

Mostly like you, mixed with a fork, adding milk not water, plus a little pepper & butter, then all into the pan. Non cambio per frittate.

I heat butter in a non-stick pan. While that is heating, I scramble the eggs in a bowl, add a little buttermilk and Tabasco, s & p. After I put the mixture into the pan, I move the eggs from the edges towards the middle, gently, just until they are all set, then serve. Sometimes, if I gave some really good flat-leaf parsley in the garden, I will add a little to the mixture.

I scramble in a bowl (extremely well) before adding to the pan. Those little white flecks that occur when one scrambles in a hot pan gross me out.

I mix the eggs with milk, and S&P in a pyrex bowl with a whisk. I then cook the eggs in the bowl in the microwave with a lid. Cook for one minute, stir, cook another minute and repeat until there is just enough liquid left to stir in and keep in moist. Then I stir in a pat or two of butter before serving.

Like everybody else, in a bowl with a fork and I add a little milk. And what does everybody add to their 'straight' scrambled eggs, one of my faves is lox, eggs and onions.
Re cooking shows Jon, don't know what your kids are watching, but certainly the 'old-timers' still use the bowl method, unless...they've skipped showing that part of the program to speed up the show, a distinct possibility.

whisk in a bowl for omelets with salt only. for scrambled: pan on fairly low heat, melt butter, break in the eggs, add salt, break the yokes, and mix gently as they begin to set, adding fresh herbs at the end. turn out onto a plate while they are still fairly soft and with distint white and yellow parts.

[Jenise]

I do it BOTH ways. Mind, I don't eat eggs, but I do prepare them for Bob and he enjoys both methods. The mix in the pan thing (deliberately not overblended) ends up more like a chopped fried egg and works well when other ingredients are added, like a little chopped ham and some green chives. For true scrambled, fork-whipped with milk, which creates creamier, fluffier eggs than just water. But I do use water if I'm scrambling the eggs for an omelet because there I don't think 'fluffy' is a benefit.

Even though I am a self-declared curmudgeon, it pains me to remind us that there are huge differences between scrambled eggs and omelets.

In both cases, I mix the eggs,a bit of water or milk, salt and pepper in a stainless steel or ceramic mixing bowl. In the case of scrambled eggs I use a whisk, in the case of an omelet a dinner fork. Either is then transfered to a skillet with sizzling butter (if I'm not lazy I use clarified) but then the difference becomes critical because the scrambled eggs continue to be tossed and turned in the skillet until they are done while the omelet is merely shifted from side to side, allowing the uncooked portion to flow to the sides, and then the omelet is either flipped in the skillet or, in the French style, simply folded as it slides out of the pan onto the plate.

Best
Rogov

Re cooking shows Jon, don't know what your kids are watching, but certainly the 'old-timers' still use the bowl method, unless...they've skipped showing that part of the program to speed up the show, a distinct possibility.

This is a very good point that I had not considered, Shel! This might be the explanation, especially since the majority of responders here use a bowl either all the time or some of the time.

Sigh. It's 6.25am, and now I have to go and make scrambled eggs for breakfast. (Whisking them up in a bowl first, but today I'll try buttermilk - thanks Karen!)

Scrambled eggs -- add some CREAM to the bowl, mix thoroughly with a fork, fry in butter without bothering it too much to get the big soft curds. Salt and pepper after it is plated. The cream gives it a great texture and a wonderful taste.

Omelets -- add water, tabasco, garlic powder, and salt. Pour into a hot buttered frying pan, add slivers of cheese and either swirl the pan (a la Julia Child) or tilt and disturb gently with a fork, tilting again to get the wet stuff onto the bare pan. Cook until the outer surface colors a bit.

the BEST scrambled eggs are mixed with cream and black truffles and cooked for a long time in a double boiler without stirring.
I suppose truffled eggs are not in fact "scrambled" -- well, maybe they are, before cooking.

Scrambled eggs -- add some CREAM to the bowl, mix thoroughly with a fork, fry in butter without bothering it too much to get the big soft curds. Salt and pepper after it is plated. The cream gives it a great texture and a wonderful taste.

That's pretty much the same way I do it I usually throw a little salt and pepper in the mix and sometimes add tabasco if it's just for me.

I eat eggs almost every day. Scrambled.

Heat pan with a tiny bit of butter on low heat. Crack two eggs directly into pan...don't scramble until the whites start to set. Scramble gently until just set (very wet). You should be able to see both yellow AND white. Plate. Add s and p to taste.

Every day ...almost...without fail. Delish.

I'm in the Howie camp and use the microwave. Whisk egg (if making a single serve) or eggs in Pyrex jug of appropriate size, add knob of butter and a dash of milk (find cream too rich) and microwave on a medium heat at the most. Slow gentle cooking with a whisking part way through if necessary - the more eggs, the more whisking is necessary. Love to add herbs (Thai basil or cilantro) if I have them growing at the time. Season after cooking. Serve. We use free range eggs by the way.

I have this little container with a lid for microwaving a single serve and the egg mixture rises up like a soufflé. I can sometimes get it onto the toast before it collapses.

Unlike most of you I add no liquid to my scamblers. I used to because....well because that's just the way everyone did it. Once I started omitting the liquids I liked the results better. To me, any liquid added just dilutes the richness of the eggs, though I confess I've never tried cream. Cheese, herbs, yes.
First thing is of course good fresh eggs. Buy them from the farmer if you can, not the supermarket. The most CRITICAL thing though, and I don't remember quite how I discovered this (was it the morning after scene in "Big Night"?) is to cook scrambled eggs with as little heat and as slowly as possible, stirring often. I repeat, lowest possible heat. Sometimes it seems like they are not cooking at all, but don't be impatient. The end results are the creamiest most wonderful scrambled eggs you've ever tasted.

Your method is bang on for me, Bob (see my post above)--but I HAD to comment because of that final scene in Big Night. One of the most moving scenes...really stuck with me--its simplicity, the strength of family and the simple act of love that making a bit of food is..all without words. LOVE that scene.

And to add to farm fresh--I got some great eggs from free-range chickens at Rosas Farm in Central FL-(The owners have become friends, and now, if I'm driving by, I stop in for supplies (grass fed rib-eye steaks, free-range organic chickens, organic pork, grass fed ground beef and EGGS)...but the orange color of the yolks on these eggs is simply INCREDIBLE.

When I scramble my egg (without any additions-no water, no milk--over low heat) tomorrow, I'll see if I can capture the color of the egg in a photo to post.

And to add to farm fresh--I got some great eggs from free-range chickens at Rosas Farm in Central FL-(The owners have become friends, and now, if I'm driving by, I stop in for supplies (grass fed rib-eye steaks, free-range organic chickens, organic pork, grass fed ground beef and EGGS)...but the orange color of the yolks on these eggs is simply INCREDIBLE.

A free range egg is not a real free range egg unless the yolk is incredibly orange. Free range chickies need the grass, not just grain thrown on the ground outside. I'm always disappointed when I buy so called 'free range' and find insipid yellow. I guess my problem is we had own own free rangers for a while with the deepest orange yolks I'd ever seen. Still have two but they now only range and no longer lay.
Cheers,
Sue

Sue--totally agree about that orange color. Like no eggs you see ever in the market here. These chickens at my friends farm are so free range that they have to shoo them from the door way from time to time.

As you can see:

In a pan. I've tried scrambling them without a pan, but it's really messy.








(I've been reading this thread and I couldn't stand it any more.)

John

Yes, yolk color, and a hard shell are the two ways I judge eggs. Eggs are probably the first thing I cooked when I was young, and they were our eggs - we shared eggs and hens from a communal hen house tended by 3 families. Once you've had good fresh eggs, it's hard to tolerate commercial eggs and the watery scrambled eggs you see on breakfast bars. My mother cooked all of our meals for us, but told me if I wanted to sleep late on the weekends (I did) I'd have to cook my own breakfast. This is how I first learned to cook. Bacon and eggs, mushrooms and bacon (cook a pan full of bacon, leave all the fat in the pan, cook the mushrooms and let them absorb all the bacon fat) and occasionally if I felt like it, lamb chops.