Ditch The Pan — Scrambled Eggs Are Richer And Creamier With This Method

If you've had rich, creamy scrambled eggs at a restaurant and just can't figure out how to recreate this velvet texture at home, it's time to ditch the pan and try the double-boiler method instead. Perhaps best known for its utility in melting chocolate, a double boiler is a great way to gently heat food — including your eggs — without drying, burning, or curdling them. You can buy a double-boiler or make your own by stacking a heat-proof bowl atop a pot of shallow simmering water. The bottom pot will generate steam, which is how the eggs, scrambled in the top bowl for between 15 and 30 minutes, cook. 

In the case of scrambled eggs, cooking over a direct heat source in a pan can be too harsh and can cause the eggs' proteins to tighten too rapidly. High, direct heat from the pan squeezes out the moisture. A combination of this rapid coagulation and syneresis leads to firm, dry, or rubbery scrambled eggs. Eggs' tendency to coagulate and cook quickly also is why scrambling eggs in a stainless steel pan is the worst and will lead to a stuck-on egg mess. On the contrary, the double-boiler method's gentle indirect heat allows the eggs' proteins to denature more slowly, creating less separation of water, fat, and protein. The result is a plate of scrambled eggs that is soft and creamy, not firm to the bite.

Making scrambled eggs in the double-boiler is easy, as long as you avoid one big mistake many people make when using a double-boiler: adding too much water to the bottom pot. This can result in hot or boiling water touching the top pan. So, to ensure a gentle cook and to avoid excess steam from interacting with the eggs as they cook, all you need is about 2 inches of simmering water in the bottom pot. 

For best results, be sure to keep space between the top pan with the eggs and the simmering water bath below. It also helps to stir the eggs constantly with a flexible spatula so they cook evenly and develop a nice, creamy texture during the slow heating process. In short, don't rush the process. Using a double-boiler to cook eggs over low heat takes longer than doing so in the pan, but makes extra rich and creamy eggs.

For the fluffiest scrambled eggs, try combining other scrambled eggs tips and tricks with the double-boiler gentle heating method. This includes cooking techniques like adding an extra egg yolk or scrambling the eggs in butter.