Perfect scrambled eggs obviously start with eggs fresh from the chicken coop. If you don't raise chickens, try to find a local farm or farmers market that sells eggs, or even check your grocery store shelves for eggs from local farmers.
Eggs laid by "pasture raised" chickens allowed to roam around eating bugs, grass and weeds naturally taste better than eggs laid by caged chickens. The yolks are darker orange and they're more nutritious.
But most importantly, fresh eggs have a higher moisture content than older eggs. And that will lead to fluffier scrambled eggs.
Perfectly Fluffy Soft Scrambled Eggs
Scrambling is probably the most common and the easiest way to prepare eggs short of hard boiling them, but these 5 simple tips can take your morning eggs from meh to marvelous!
Little things make a big difference when it comes to scrambling eggs!
Start with Fresh Eggs
Fresh eggs don't need much fussing with since they are naturally bursting with freshness, moisture and flavor. I generally don't add anything to my morning eggs when I scramble them. No milk or cream, and often no salt or pepper, even.
I just let the fresh delicious taste of the eggs shine all on their own. (Since there's only one ingredient in scrambled eggs, using fresh, delicious eggs is super important.)
As an egg ages, the white thins out, so scrambled eggs made with older eggs are likely to be runnier than a scramble made with fresh eggs.
Furthermore, eggs are mostly water, which slowly evaporates as the egg ages. That moisture in the egg creates steam as the eggs are scrambled and makes them lighter and fluffier when you use fresh eggs.
If you Must Use Older Eggs
If you don't have any fresh eggs, you can add some sour cream to your scrambled eggs to add a little bit of extra fat, flavor and moisture.
Don't have any sour cream? Regular heavy cream, yogurt, milk or even just a little water will all work to rehydrate your eggs a bit.
For Fluffy Scrambled Eggs
You do want to make sure you whisk your eggs really well before scrambling them.
Incorporating air into the egg will result in fluffy scrambled eggs. You can use a fork, but a whisk does a better job. You can also put your eggs in a mason jar and really shake them up!
I usually turn on the heat under my skillet and add my olive oil or butter, then as the pan heats up, I whisk the eggs in a bowl.
When the pan is hot, the eggs are well whisked.
For Soft Scrambled Eggs
You absolutely don't want to overcook your eggs or they'll get dry and chewy. I turn off the heat almost as soon as I've added my eggs, and just gently fold them with a spatula until they're just set but still shiny.
And that's it.
If you want to, season them with just the teeniest bit of Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, or sometimes I like to add a sprinkle of fresh cut herbs - tarragon, basil and dill are all favorites.
And there you have it. Perfectly fluffy soft scrambled eggs. Now for my tips.
So here are my 5 tips for perfectly fluffy soft scrambled eggs.
5 Tips for Perfectly Fluffy Soft Scrambled Eggs
1. Whisk your eggs well before scrambling.
2. Cook your eggs SLOOOOWLY over low heat in a bit of butter or oil, your choice.
3. For large curds, gently fold with a spatula. For smaller curds, stir or whisk the whole time they're cooking. Move the cooked eggs from the outside edges of the pan toward the middle as they cook.
4. Cook the eggs only until they're just barely set and still shiny. The eggs will continue to cook a bit after you move them to the plate.
5. Don't salt the eggs until they're done cooking or you'll ruin the texture and they'll turn watery and thin.
