Chefs’ tips and tricks for making the best scrambled eggs are everywhere on the internet. However, their advice can often contradict quite dramatically. Almost everything about Gordon Ramsay’s technique – starting with a cold pan, finishing with a spoonful of crème fraîche and not seasoning until the end of cooking – is comically the reverse of Anthony Bourdain’s recommendations. Heston Blumenthal prefers to cook his eggs for 20 minutes over a double boiler, while Jacque Pépin says a double boiler is unnecessary, and recommends using a saucier instead. Sohla El-Waylly adds salt 15 minutes before cooking, Frank Proto adds salt halfway through cooking and Gordon Ramsay adds it at the very end.

Kenji Lopez Alt’s recipe from the New York Times is, as you’d expect, full of brilliant tricks. He adds butter directly to the raw eggs rather than the pan, and mixes the eggs with a fork, as recommended by Daniel Bolud in Francis Lam’s 2008 essay on perfection for Gourmet. He uses a Chinese trick for adding starch to help keep egg curds from becoming tough (popularised outside of China by Mandy Lee and the YouTube channel Chinese Cooking Demystified). Kenji’s recipe is definitely worth checking out if you have problems with overcooking your scrambled eggs, as many of his techniques help to prevent the eggs becoming rubbery.

While comparing contrasting methods can be a bit of a headache, it ultimately shows that there is no one true way to make scrambled eggs! And since they’re all delicious and fairly quick (except, perhaps, for Heston’s method) give them each a go and see which way you prefer.

This recipe makes one serving of English-style scrambled eggs

As you can probably tell by all the different advice given by chefs above, there is no one true way to make scrambled eggs. Preferences vary by culture and by person. But there are a few myths that can be easily debunked.

One is that salting your eggs in advance will make them watery – it won’t. In fact, salting your eggs 15 minutes in advance can make them even more tender, as explained by Harold McGee in his book On Food and Cooking. This works because both salt (and acids like lemon juice or vinegar) alter the pH of the egg, lowering the temperature at which egg proteins bond, and ensuring they don’t bond as tightly. Harold McGee’s book offers a more full explanation, and so if you’re curious about the details we can definitely recommend his book!

Another myth is that you need to add some sort of dairy to make French-style soft scrambled eggs. You can make eggs so soft that they are almost a custard without any additional dairy at all. The texture of soft-scrambled eggs comes from cooking eggs over a low temperature and stirring them frequently, rather than from the addition of dairy. 

Delia Smith’s scrambled eggs and Marco Pierre White’s have identical ingredients – but very different textures. This is because of the temperature of the pan, and the fact that Delia Smith uses a wooden spoon, which doesn’t break up the curds as much as Marco Pierre White’s whisk. However, a dash of cream or crème fraîche is certainly a tasty and useful addition, as it can help prevent overcooking.

When most people picture scrambled eggs, they’ll think of plain scrambled eggs, maybe topped with chives or a generous helping of smoked salmon. But scrambled eggs can be used in so many different dishes apart from just toast. They are delicious with matzo for a sweet or savoury matzo brei, and can also be enjoyed on top of rice with stir-fried ground chicken as part of a Japanese soboro don. Scrambled eggs with tomatoes is a fantastic combination that can be found all around the world – like Greek strapatsada, Turkish menemen, Indian anda bhurji and Chinese stir-fried tomatoes and eggs. There is also a whole world of scrambled egg sandwiches – from ethereally soft Hong Kong-style ham and egg sandwiches to Wylie Dufresne's scrambled egg cheese toastie. Scrambled eggs are definitely good for more than just breakfast!