Eggs aren’t just a popular breakfast buffet item or special occasion brunch fare. They’re a staple food for people around the world. In fact, egg consumption across many Asian, European, and Central American countries is higher than in the United States, according to World Population Review. This makes sense for both economic and nutritional reasons. Eggs tend to be relatively affordable sources of complete protein. Additionally, they contain significant amounts of essential vitamins, minerals, and other key nutrients, from healthy fats to vitamin D. In fact, you may get many unexpected effects from eating eggs each day.
So, what’s not to like about eggs? (Here are some egg health myths we all thought were true, but aren’t.) To be honest, figuring out how to whip them up into the fluffiest scrambles can be a frustrating experience. Too often, scrambled eggs can turn out to be heavy and rubbery — not exactly what you’d call an Insta-ready result. To help improve your egg-scrambling skills, NCPIC sought cooking advice from registered dietitian Angel Luk. When tasked with recommending some low-fat cooking techniques to produce airy (not scary) scrambled eggs, she easily produced three tips that you can implement right away.
Prep with the right tools
For her first suggestion, Luk said that the type of pan you use matters. Invest in a non-stick pan that’s free from PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) and PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid). As she noted, taking this measure “ensures that you can use minimal cooking oil while scrambling those delicious eggs.”
Buying PTFE- and PFOA-free cookware may have other benefits as well. In an interview for Consumer Reports, chemist Eric Boring, PhD, warned that “[a]voiding products made with PFAS, including pots and pans, may help protect your health and the environment,” and added that “our findings suggest that consumers who want to avoid PFAS in their nonstick cookware may want to focus on products that claim to be PTFE-free.” (Make sure to read this if you use nonstick cookware.)
Next, Luk recommended adding around a tablespoon of either low-fat milk or plain water when you’re beating the eggs before heating them in your safer pan. “This liquid will turn into steam that moistens the eggs while they cook in the pan,” she explained.
Keep your eggs in motion
At this point, you should have your heating implement and ingredients all ready. But Luk’s final tip may be the most important to your finished product: “While cooking beaten eggs on low to medium heat, use a silicone spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the non-stick pan constantly.” And be sure to remove the eggs from the heat when they’re nearly done since they’ll continue to cook from the residual heat from the pan.
Indeed, this third strategy seems to be a shoe-in for fluffier eggs without added fats, as it’s regularly proposed by professional chefs. Case in point, executive chef Donald Petito, Jr., had the same advice for Allrecipes: “Use a spatula to make gentle, sweeping motions to keep the curds small and tender.”
Of course, you’ll likely have to break more than a few eggs as you practice your newfound scrambling skills. That’s half the delicious fun, though. And if you don’t want to eat the yolk due to personal preference or dietary restrictions, Luk assured that these tips work for both whole eggs and egg whites.
