Very scrambled.

[sarea]

I love eggs. There's no way you can cook an egg that will make me not like it. In that way, it's very similar to the potato. But you know, everyone makes eggs differently. And more specifically, everyone makes scrambled eggs a bit differently. It seems like such a simple thing, but ... no, even with scrambled eggs, there are many variations.

So I went to brunch with Julie on Sunday, and we both ordered some form of scrambled eggs (hers were plain with cheese, while I had a seafood-type one). She ordered hers "very scrambled," which I thought was odd, because ... was there a way to serve scrambled eggs that were somehow more scrambled than another way? Well, I soon found out. Our meals arrived, and her eggs were, as she had specified, very well done. Mine were ... not. They weren't uncooked or anything, but imho they definitely could have used a few more minutes on the grill. And I thought that was a revelation about a food preference that I had not known up until now -- I like my scrambled eggs very scrambled. (I had leftovers, and when I heated them up again later -- basically, cooking them more -- they were delicious.)

That's not to say that I always have to have eggs in general cooked extremely well done -- eggs overeasy are perhaps my favorite (I love to dip toast into the runny yolk), and I also like soft-boiled eggs. But scrambled? Runny scrambled eggs are not my thing, apparently. So next time, I'm going to have to order them "very scrambled."

But I'm curious ... has some food connoisseur somewhere maintained that just-underdone scrambled eggs were the best way to eat them (like the guy championing rare burgers)? Is this something the food world just knows, that I'm in the dark about?

While we're on the topic of scrambled eggs, do you put milk in yours? I didn't even know people put milk in scrambled eggs until about two years ago. In my house, we always made scrambled eggs straight up with no dilution.

And for the record, the absolute best scrambled eggs I've ever had was made by this 20something guy at a bed & breakfast that my friends and I stayed in, in Dublin. I do not know what he did to those eggs, but they were out of this world.

Comments

[fearthainn.livejournal.com]

Runny scrambled eggs are an abomination. They can't be over-cooked to the point of rubbery-ness, but they can't be runny either. Erk. I was always taught that you only add milk to your eggs when making omlettes...I never add it to regular scrambled eggs, although I do add grated cheese. Mmmmm, cheese and eggs!

(And oddly, I can only eat scrambled eggs, because I hate it when you get the crunchy edge parts of fried eggs. I dunno why, those bits just give me the willies.)

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Runny scrambled eggs are an abomination.

Hahahaha, yeah, I have to agree. They're just ... gross. Definitely want to avoid rubbery, also. I think probably the best time to take them off the heat is when they've just become dry, but are still fluffy.

The idea of the crunchy bits of eggs giving you willies makes me laugh. :)) I mean, I don't even mind them and I can see why they'd repulse you, so ... yeah. I can't blame you.

[heinous_bitca.livejournal.com]

I like my eggs over medium, because while I like runny yolk, I want the whites to be thoroughly cooked. I do NOT like runny whites. Most of the time, asking for over medium will get me that.

I have in the past used milk for scrambled eggs, but I'm also likely to just use a dash of water. I do use milk for omelettes, tho.

My husband does not like eggs so much, except as a delivery vehicle for other things. So while he likes omelettes (true omelettes, in his opinion, are not egg fold-overs, where the eggs are cooked and then the fillings go in. He prefers his omelettes more quiche-like), he doesn't like any other kinds of eggs.

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

No, you're totally right, whites have to be cooked thoroughly. Uncooked whites are disgusting. I'm with your husband on quiche-like omelettes rather than the more traditional kind (my preference is just scrambled eggs with all the other ingredients mixed in) ... omelettes are probably my least favorite way to eat eggs.

[mynuet.livejournal.com]

If I have the time, I separate the eggs, whip the whites to a froth, then add the yolks for a tiny bit more whipping, and it gets cooked until it's juuuuuuuuuuuust at the point where there's a bit of moisture left but not enough to have the eggs leaking fluid onto the plate. I only add milk if I want to stretch the eggs, or want to cheat on the moisture point - timing is less critical if there's milk in the mix.

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Wow, interesting. This is the first I've ever heard of separating the two parts. What difference does it make? I'm going to try it that way next time I make scrambled eggs at home, to see for myself, but I'm curious as to what it's supposed to do.

[mynuet.livejournal.com]

It makes the eggs fluffier and softer by a lot.

[aud-woman-in.livejournal.com]

But I'm curious ... has some food connoisseur somewhere maintained that just-underdone scrambled eggs were the best way to eat them (like the guy championing rare burgers)? Is this something the food world just knows, that I'm in the dark about?

The answer is yes, at least according to every foodie I know. There was a thing in the LA Times (I think) recently about learning to cook the perfect omelet, and on Jacques Pepin's "Fast Food My Way" too - and the consensus seems to be that the eggs need to come off of the heat while still wet. But that grosses me out, so I ignore the experts and cook a bit o' golden brown into them.

Now I'm hungry and wish the cafeteria served eggs at lunch ;)

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

I knew it! I knew there had to be some way this restaurant was serving them that way, and why Julie deliberately ordered hers well done. I must have missed that article in the Times, I'll have to look it up and see if it's still free in their archives.

Yeah, I don't mind the wet for the first two bites or so, and then after that I start feeling kind of disgusted by it. I was saying to someone else that the eggs need not be cooked to the point of rubbery-ness, but maybe the perfect time for them to be taken off the heat is when the last of the true wetness has disappeared. :D

[nokomis305.livejournal.com]

You know, until reading this post, I was unaware that people made scrambled eggs without milk. Learn something new everyday...

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Heeheehee, I'm so not surprised to hear it. I'm actually more surprised by how few people actually went, "OMG you don't put milk in your scrambled eggs?!" I wonder if this is a regional thing (Julie's family didn't put milk in their scrambled eggs, either, and we both grew up in LA), or what.

[theliningsilver.livejournal.com]

I do add milk to mine, after I mix the eggs up, but before I actually put them in the skillet. I tend to like mine harder rather than soft, as well, because scrambled eggs just need to be a wee bit firmer, imo.

[venetianglass.livejournal.com]

Every morning I cook a scrambled egg sandwitch -- eggs cooked with milk (I scrambled them in a cup before I put them in the pan) on wheat bread (but not toasted). I just add salt and pepper. Other than a bacon and cheese omelette from my Dad's favorite restaurant (where I'm afraid to order anything but eggs), it's the only kind of egg I will eat.

[corianderstem.livejournal.com]

I do not like eggs. About once a year I get a hankering for scrambled eggs, which I make with just a splash of milk, and a little shredded cheddar cheese. I like them just on the runny side, and definitely not too done. I rarely like them in restaurants.

But more often than not, eggs give me a really bad gut ache.