For The Fluffiest Scrambled Eggs, Reach For One Foolproof Pantry Staple

A proper scramble should deliver light, airy curds of fluffy, jiggly eggs. For a recipe featuring so few ingredients, there are a lot of ways to make fluffy scrambled eggs, and even more ways to get it wrong. Everyone's had the disappointment of tough — or worse, watery — scrambled eggs, so we're here with a brilliant and easy way to ensure your scrambles will always turn out as fluffy as an unused pillow. The best part of this egg hack is you probably already have what you need sitting in your kitchen pantry.

From beating in a bowl first to adding seltzer water or lemon juice, it feels like everyone has their foolproof method of scrambled egg making. But we highly recommend you give cornstarch a try. As with Cantonese Whampoa Eggs, adding a cornstarch (or potato starch) to your scramble essentially cracks the code for creating silky, unbroken scrambled eggs that are both fluffy and retain a bit of texture and bite to them.

One of the big benefits of whipping up scrambled eggs for breakfast is that they're fast, easy, and nutritious. But restaurant-quality scrambled eggs require a low-and-slow approach to cooking. People rushing out the door for work or trying to get their kids ready for school don't always have the luxury of sitting and watching eggs scramble. Speeding up the scrambling process with too much heat causes the proteins in the eggs to stiffen up and results in those awful rubbery eggs. Adding cornstarch helps solve this common mistake. Cornstarch, traditionally used as a binding agent, is said to help retain moisture in the eggs by keeping the proteins from seizing up due to the heat. This allows them to still cook thoroughly, which is one of the harder balances to strike when making scrambled eggs.

When it comes to the actual amount of cornstarch needed, some have said to use about ¾ tsp teaspoon for every four eggs. As the Cantonese do, be sure to first make a cornstarch slurry with a one-to-one ratio of either milk or water with whatever cornstarch you use. Whisk the cornstarch slurry with your eggs and seasoning, before adding it to a hot pan and stirring with a spatula. Also, as much as we try to work around it, adding a healthy amount of butter or lard to your soft and fluffy scrambled eggs will definitely help push both the taste and texture to the next level.