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The quest for the perfect food may be elusive, but eggs come pretty darn close. They’re affordable, accessible, nutrient-rich, and there are so many ways to cook them. Eggs are the potato of protein. Like the spud, they can be worked into any meal of the day and always taste absolutely delicious.
Experts in This Article
food scientist and product development manager at Panaceutics
Sarah Schneider is the co-founder of Egg Shop, located in New York City.
Watch the video below to find out why eggs are so good for you:
Something else that’s great about eggs is that they’re (mostly) hard to mess up. Even if you crack ’em open into a frying pan and stir them around for a few minutes, you’re bound to end up with something acceptable to eat.
That being said, there is a big difference between eggs that are acceptable and eggs that are so good you find yourself scraping your plate for remnants.
Just like cooking other foods, knowing how to cook eggs in a way that takes them to a whole new level requires knowing some insider tips. For this, there is no one better than Sarah Schneider, the co-founder of Egg Shop in New York City. As you can guess by its name, the restaurant celebrates eggs by serving them in many different dishes, and does so to perfection. (There’s also an Egg Shop cookbook, $35, if you don’t live close enough to frequent the restaurant.)
Fortunately, Schneider isn’t stingy with her egg-cooking know-how. If you want to know how to cook eggs tasty enough to serve in an egg-centric restaurant, keep reading. Then put the tips into practice when cooking breakfast—or lunch, or dinner—tomorrow.
6 egg-cooking tips chefs and food scientists swear by
1. Add fat to your scrambled eggs.
When making scrambled eggs, Schneider emphasized the importance of incorporating a form of fat, like butter or ghee. “A fluffy scramble is all about heat and fat,” she says. “The ratio we use at Egg Shop is two eggs for every one tablespoon of fat.” This helps their texture get so fluffy that the scrambled eggs actually take the shape of a rose—talk about presentation points!
The process is easier than it sounds. “The pan is on medium heat and the eggs are folded over themselves while we turn the pan using a spatula to create a beautiful shape resembling a rose,” Scheider explains in terms of how to do it. Even if it all falls apart, rest assured it will still taste delicious.
2. Lemon juice also makes the texture fluffy.
Food scientist Makenzie Bryson Jackson, MS, has another method for ensuring your scrambled eggs have that perfect fluffy texture. Ready for it? Lemon juice. “Whipping the eggs beforehand with some acid such as lemon juice can create a stiffer structure that holds air bubbles,” she previously told Well+Good. She also says that the juice’s liquid dilutes the egg proteins so they aren’t as quick to coagulate. So there you have it, a way to fluff up your eggs backed by science.
3. Add sour cream for richness.
Scrambled eggs with butter and lemon juice are great for an average Tuesday, but if it’s a special occasion, you may want to dress ’em up a little. For this, Schneider breaks out the caviar, Cognac, and sour cream. (Yep, we’re getting fancy.) “The sour cream adds texture and richness to this French-inspired scramble and pairs perfectly with the Cognac,” she says. If caviar and Cognac aren’t exactly your speed, try serving smoked salmon with cucumber slices alongside your sour cream scrambled eggs, or sandwich it all between two slices of bread.
4. Crank the heat for crispy edges.
Maybe you’re not really a scrambled egg person and prefer your eggs served in a different style—sunny-side-up, perhaps? The perfect sunny-side-up eggs are runny in the middle but crisp and flaky around the edges with solidified whites. It isn’t exactly easy to master, but Schneider offers up a hack that will get you there without fuss every time. “If you want to crisp the edges of your runny sunny-side-up egg, go high on the heat,” she says. “Drizzle oil in the pan and swirl the pan to coat evenly. Crack the egg directly into the pan and watch the edges crisp.” Suddenly, it doesn’t seem so hard.
5. Use pickled beets to turn your eggs pink.
As the owner of an egg-focused restaurant, you have to expect that when Schneider is hosting a party or having friends over that they’ll make an appearance. But she doesn’t just put out a standard plate of deviled eggs. Instead, she likes to pickle the eggs with beets, which turns them a vibrant shade of pink and gives them a delicious sweet-sour zing of flavor. “It’s a great party snack and looks stunning on a plate,” she says.
Here’s how to do it: Use a cup of water, a cup of apple cider vinegar, and a half-cup of sugar to make the pickling liquid by mixing them together in a skillet on the stove until it starts to boil. Hard boil your eggs and place them in a large mason jar. Add the beets along with the pickling liquid. Pop the jar on the lid and refrigerate for 24 hours. A day later and your eggs are perfectly pink, picked, and party ready!
6. Hot tip: Eggs don’t have to be cooked on the stove.
If the only way you’ve ever cooked eggs is either by hard-boiling them or cracking them into a frying pan, listen up: You can bake your eggs in the oven, too. For example, if you’re a fan of sheet pan meals because they don’t leave you with a sink full of dishes, it’s the perfect time to incorporate eggs so you get protein along with your veggies. You can also cook eggs in a muffin tin so make a batch of ready-to-eat egg muffins all week long. One of the most delicious options? Make hard boiled eggs in your air fryer.
Here’s the bottom line: No matter how you cook up your eggs, they’ll likely turn out pretty darn good. But if you want to serve up an edible masterpiece, simply follow the tips that were highlighted here. Truly, what’s more impressive than a scrambled egg rose?
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