We challenged chefs of three different skill levels - an amateur, a home cook, and a professional - to prepare scrambled eggs.
After each of them had presented their fluffy creation, we asked a food scientist to review their work.
Whose huevos would you choose?
[cooking sounds][percussive music ]- I'm Hannah, and I'm a level one chef.- Hi, I'm Gabrielle, andI'm a level two chef.- Hi, I'm Palak, and I'ma chef at the Instituteof Culinary Education.[percussive music]- My scrambled egg recipe is very simple,it's always the same every time,and it's always very good.- We are going to add in alittle bit of Asian flavorinto these scrambledeggs, and serve them upa little bit differentlythan your traditionalbreakfast-style scrambled eggs.- My scrambled eggs hasa very unique techniquewhere the eggs never hit a pan.You actually cook themin a whirlpool of water.You should be making yourscrambled eggs like thisbecause you'll never goback to a pan ever again.[chimes]- So first step is toget the eggs in a bowl,get them mixed up, so I'll take an egg,I'll use the side of the bowl to crack it.- I typically like to crackeggs on not quite so thinof a rim, the thinnerit is, it may puncturethe egg shell a little bit more and leavemore little bitlets andstuff, so I actually liketo really crack mine onthe corner of like a stoveor even the pan itself.- Give it a good whack soit definitely cracks throughall the way and then just peel it open.Of course I did justget a shell in the bowl.I'm like hyper afraid of salmonella.When I'm making eggs, I probably washmy hands like 15 times.- I'm pretty relaxed withgetting my shells out,I have my hands washed, I'm very sanitary.I like to break the yolksfirst, you really wantto beat the heck out of themso that a lot of the egg whitedisappears, becausethat's what's gonna makethe eggs really creamyand fluffy and delicious.- We are gonna take the scrambled eggsand put them right back in the shell,so in order to get a clean cut,you need a little device,it's called an egg topperand you're gonna holdit, pull up the lever,and what that does isit's gonna create a creaseright around the egg and thenwith a sharp paring knife,just kind of work your wayaround and get a clean cut.And before we can use the eggshell,we have to sterilize it, so Ijust have some boiling water,drop that shell in there.- Usually I make about two eggs per personso let's say this isfor a breakfast for two,if you know what I mean,you add in the water,you can add a pinch of salt.- Some people reallydon't like adding saltinto their eggs beforethey cook because they sayit dehydrates it.- And a little jush of pepper.- My first ingredient is my mirin,which is a sweet rice wine.It's going to really nicely tie togethermy soy and my ginger.And then I have just a little bit of soy,I really want to add in this soy now,rather than later so thatit's nice and uniformthroughout my eggs.My last ingredient is goingto be my fresh ginger.It has such a nice,delicious, pungent flavor,so you really don't need a lot of it.My rule of thumb is to goat it for about 30 seconds,maybe tilt the bowl a littlebit to get that whippingin circular motion.- It's been five minutes, myeggshells have sterilized.Now we have two perfectlysterilized eggshells.That's gonna be the vesselfor our scrambled eggs.- I tend to make more cheesethan I need just in case.You can never go wrong with cheese,unless you're lactose intolerant.- I'm gonna make a cucumber saladwith a little honey and rice vinegar.I have my Persian cucumbers, which arethe little baby cucumbers.- So next step is toget the bacon started.I like when the bacongoes on and there's likealready that sizzle.Probably should've waitedlike a minute longer.And I'm just laying themvertically next to each other.- So I'm just gonna like very quicklychop the very end off, thenI'm going to take my mandoline.Rather than individually chopping all ofthese cucumbers and it makesit really nice and uniform.Thing about the mandolineis you have to be really,really careful with yourhands and your fingers,so be careful, kids.- Bacon smells so good.Now I'm gonna go aheadand add in my rice vinegarand my honey.I'm just going to combineit until the honeyis pretty much totallydissolved in the vinegar.They're gonna have this little bit ofa pungent, acidic flavor.Add a little bit of salt justto kinda tie it all together.- While that's cooking,I'm gonna sort of prepsome of my chives.- Chives.- That's gonna add a bright green colorand a little bit of extra.- Chive party.- So now we're gonna make thecream topping for the eggs.We want to zest a whole Meyer lemon,and then to that we're gonnaadd some creme fraiche.Creme fraiche has a little bit of tang,and we're gonna mix thiswith the whipped cream.Season with a little salt.Next I'm gonna whip my heavy cream.I wanna start with cold cream so thatyou wanna make sure it doesn't separatewhen you're whipping it,and go for soft peaks.It's a decadent dish soyou need to work out.- Watched bacon never cooks,I think that's the saying.- One of my other toppingsthat I want to addare some fresh scallions.I think they taste great on anything.They're a little pop offlavor, pop of color.- Ooh, we got some popping bacon, yummy.- Be careful of flyingoil, I feel like every timeI eat eggs, I get injured.- Throw some sesame in a dry pan,and you know, and then itgets this nice golden colorand it adds a nice littlecrunch nuttiness to the dish.- All right, so I've got my bacon done,I'm gonna go ahead and putit on some paper towel,just let some of the grease dry off there.Four beautiful bacon slices.- Now I'm gonna add onemore ingredient to this,and that's vodka.I'm just not trying to be fancy,there is a purpose for this.The vodka helps stabilizethe cream mixture,plus there's caviar inthe dish, I need vodka.Take the creme fraiche,and you want to gentlyfold it into the whippedcream because you just spentall that time addingair, so you don't wantto deflate your cream.Little cayenne, because why not?I'm gonna put it into a pastry bag.This makes it easier topipe the cream mixtureon top of the eggs.- Finally we're at theeggs, the main event.We're gonna drop a littlesquare of butter on the pan.- I'm going to add inghee rather than butter,tying in again more of the Asian theme.- And while that's cooking, I'm just gonnamix up my eggs a little more.Sometimes the like,the salt and the peppercan separate a little and we want itto be like really togetherwhen we start scrambling.You don't wanna make toomuch of a sizzle sound,I feel like every time I pour the eggs inand it's like actively sizzling, it burns.- The secret, in my opinion,to great scrambled eggsis cooking them low and slow.It cooks so quickly, youdon't wanna overdo ittoo quickly or they'regonna dry out and be gross.- Eggs cook really fast and you don't wantto overcook them so I would rather havea lower heat for longer thanjust fry the crap out of them.- Once it kinda sets around the edgesa little bit, I'm gonnastart pulling it inso that the egg kindafills in all the placeswhere it's already cooked.Ooh, I can smell the ginger.- I really break them up a lotinstead of just havingsort of an omelet-like egg,flipped over.- I want to make sure thatI'm not overcooking thembecause they're gonnado the rest of their jobas I plate them.- You don't want a rapid boil, you do wanta very gentle boil.You're gonna take the back of a spatulaand just clockwise, create a whirlpool.Once I take the scrambled egg mixtureand put it with the hotwater, those pockets of airare just gonna expand and the egg sizeis gonna double.Lid, count to 20.- Gonna go ahead andgrab my cheddar cheese,mix that in a little bit, let that melt.I just love cheese somuch so I'm gonna adda little bit more, but that'stotally your preference.These are starting to look really good,starting to smell really good,I feel like we're almost there.- You can smell the ghee,you can smell the mirin,you can smell the soy,everything is actuallyalready kind of incorporated.- When you get to the end,just put it through a strainer.They're just so soft andairy, that's the fastestscrambled egg you'll ever make.- So for my side I have a piece of toast.I do like two eggs aperson so I put about halfon this plate, going tosprinkle a few of the chivesover that, go ahead andgrab my bacon slices.- I'm actually going to be serving minewith some white rice.It's adding a little bit more than justyour typical breakfast toast.So I'm just gonna go ahead and put thisright on top of my rice, I'm going to givemy cucumbers one more stir,and then I'm just goingto go ahead and sprinkle a few on top,sprinkle my scallionson, last but not leastmy toasted sesame.- Take a little of thatfluffy scrambled egg,some finishing salt, thiswill give it a nice textureand it's a milder salt, alittle bit of olive oil,our cream mixture, the decadent part,little bit of chives, andlast but not least, caviar.Because you know, every day is special.- And here are my scrambled eggs.[camera clicks]- And that is your fancyeveryday scrambled egg.[calm music]- Okay, moment of truth,let's see how this went.- Let's go for it.Oh my gosh.- That tastes exactly likethey taste every single time,which I love, very consistent,they're like that friend that's alwaysgonna pick up the phone.- It has a lot of greatbalance, you have salty,you have a tiny bit ofsweetness, you have the gingerand the cucumber and a crunchiness,so I'm really happy [laughs].- The eggs are theheaviest part of this dishand then when they hit the cream,you get a burst of citrus and thenthe saltiness from the caviar,and then a little pop of chive.- This is perfection.- Eggs are one of the most versatileand functional ingredients in any dish,whether as an additionor a main ingredient.Let's see how each of ourchefs scrambled theirs.- Hannah took four eggs and cracked themdirectly into her bowl and used a forkto mix together with a little water.Be careful when you dothis, since you mightcrack part of the shell into your eggs.The shell is a complexof calcium carbonate,deposited in a protein matrix,which is harmless ifeaten but not digestible.- It happens to the best of us.- Water creates steam, makingvery tender scrambled eggs,but it's not necessary if your eggsare cooked correctly.She added salt during egg preparation,which isn't recommendedsince salt is a coagulant.It can make your eggs less tender.It's better to add salt justprior to eating your eggs.She used brown eggs which areno different from white eggswhen it comes to structureand functionality.Brown eggs simply come from red henswhile white eggs come from white hens.Gabrielle used a whisk to mix her eggs.A whisk adds more air thanthe fork that Hannah usedbecause of its structuredue to its special design.Forks can mix ingredients thoroughlybut a whisk is designed tocreate a more smooth textureas the whisk moves through the bowl.The viscosity of egg whites in particularhelps them to cling tothe tines of the whisk,allowing the proteinstructure to trap more air,creating a lighter, fluffier egg.Palak was very careful to use fresh eggs.- My eggs are fresh.- One indicator offreshness is the thicknessof the albumin or egg white.The thicker it is, the fresher the eggdue to the presence of aprotein called ovomucin,which degrades and becomesthinner as the egg ages.She kept her shellsintact for later service,but sterilized them by boilingto reduce the levelsof potential pathogenssuch as salmonella orcampylobacter jejuni.Hannah and Gabrielleboth used nonstick pansto scramble their eggs.Hannah used whole melted butterwhich includes the milk solidswhile Gabrielle used ghee,which has the milk solids removed.Ghee can get hotter than whole butteryet won't burn.- It's a better alternativethan regular butter.- Both slowly cooked theireggs over medium heatand used a spatula to stir.Hannah had some marblingwhen she initiallymixed her eggs, which means the egg whitesand the yolks were not completely blended.- You don't want to overmix it 'cause thenit will be just like too tough.- Since they coagulate atdifferent temperatures,she may have some unevencooking in her eggs.Coagulation at lower temperaturesyields a soft, tender egg, so medium heatworks very well here.The approximate temperature of coagulationof whole eggs is 176 degrees.Gabrielle added mirin, ginger, and soyprior to cooking.The soy will raise thetemperature of coagulationand season the eggs alongwith the complex blendof mirin, which is a lowalcohol, high sugar rice wine,and ginger impartingan acidic, sweet, saltyand slight spiciness to the eggs.Palak poached her eggs veryquickly, only 20 seconds.- 20.- This is so interesting and unusual.Just being in water preventsburning and crust formationand keeping the water below boiling pointkeeps the egg from beingtorn apart by turbulence.Because she left the lid on her eggs,she created a closed steaming vesselwhich heated the eggs fromthe top and the bottom,making eggs that were extremely tender.Hannah went classic withcheddar cheese in her eggsand a side of bacon and toast.Additions like cheese may raisethe coagulation temperatureof eggs because added fat has the impactof increasing the heatstability of egg proteins.- This cheese can't fitin the bowl, so I'll just.- She used a toaster whichis a radiant heat sourcethat crisps and browns the breadand served them with butter.As an extra step, she added chiveswhich are bright green witha hint of raw onion flavorfrom the compound allicin.Gabrielle served her soft scrambled eggsover white rice, which isa starchy and satiatingcomplement to thehigh-protein eggs she made.She topped her eggs with sesame seeds,which are nutty in flavorand add a subtle crunchto her dish.She served her eggs andrice with a side of crunchy,sweet, and sour pickledcucumbers, sliced perfectly thin,giving her dish an added depth of flavor.Palak carefully spoonedher soft scrambled eggsback into the sterilized eggshell,which makes a beautiful presentationand she topped it witholive oil which addsa layer of richness.She also made an indulgent whipped creamby blending creme fraiche,which is a fermented,high-fat dairy item with heavycream and Meyer lemon zest.Meyer lemons fromCalifornia are large, juicy,and sweeter than othervarieties of lemons.She used vodka and cayennepepper to flavor this cream.The vodka may look like water,but it's mostly alcoholso it doesn't hydratethe other molecules inthis complex emulsion.The vodka also breaks down fatand prevents it from separating.The cayenne pepper addsheat and color to the cream.Bowfin caviar is salt-cured roe.It's expensive and decadentwith a wonderful taste.Maldon salt is English sea salt.It's flaked so it adds crunch,as well as a very pure salt tasteand the perfect way tofinish her scrambled eggs.Whether you're makingbreakfast, brunch, or dinner,eggs offer many possibilities.Each of our chefs took a different takeon this staple dish withthree very differentbut delicious outcomes.