Gordon Ramsay has a secret ingredient for scrambled eggs that never overcook
Gordon Ramsay, TV star and leader of a global restaurant empire, may be known for his fiery and demanding kitchen persona — but his scrambled eggs are all about patience, control and a soft, fluffy finish.
Ramsay's signature move for cooking scrambled eggs is adding a thick, cultured cream at the very end to prevent them from overcooking, according to multiple reports.
The Scottish chef adds cold crème fraîche, a high-fat dairy product, to stop the cooking process while adding richness and a smooth texture without curdling.
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Ramsay's method also involves cooking eggs slowly with butter in a saucepan, stirring constantly and repeatedly moving the pan on and off the heat to manage temperature.
"Treat it like a risotto," he said in a YouTube video. "You can't stop stirring."
The approach has been widely praised.
Delish testers compared Ramsay's technique with those of Ina Garten's and Bobby Flay's, who use varying ingredients, pan temperatures and stirring methods — and ruled Ramsay's custardy texture and subtle tang from crème fraîche the best.
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Delish said Ina Garten's version tasted like "pure egg" without the tang of Ramsay's version, and noted that the crème fraîche flavor was barely noticeable in Flay's scrambled eggs.
Ramsay has previously said that, ultimately, "the most important thing about any scrambled egg is to stop them from overcooking."
Home cooks can substitute Greek yogurt, sour cream or softened cream cheese if they don't have crème fraîche on hand, as long as the ingredient is cold and rich enough to stop further cooking, experts say.
While Ramsay's eggs earned top marks in taste tests, he's not the only celebrity chef using a distinctive approach.
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Flay also uses crème fraîche — but he applies it differently, incorporating the cultured cream at the start of cooking rather than at the finish, according to Taste of Home.
Flay mixes it directly into whisked eggs before cooking them gently in butter over medium-low heat. He removes the pan while the eggs are still slightly wet, allowing residual heat to finish the cooking process and keep the eggs soft and tender.
Other chefs take a different route entirely.
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Alton Brown's unconventional approach involves mixing mayonnaise into raw eggs before cooking, Chowhound reported. The mayo adds fat and helps emulsify the eggs, resulting in a creamier texture once cooked, according to the outlet.
Brown has also suggested alternatives, such as adding extra egg yolks for those who prefer to skip mayo.
While the methods vary, food experts agree that controlling heat and adding fat at the right moment are key to achieving soft, fluffy scrambled eggs.