The Unexpected Dairy Product That Makes Extra Luxurious Scrambled Eggs

Scrambled eggs are simultaneously one of the easiest dishes to make and one of the most difficult to get just right. Many celebrity chefs have differing recipes to get their eggs rich enough, creamy enough, light enough, and flavorful enough. However, there's one unusual ingredient you can use for a decadent result. While some people add milk or cream to eggs for a creamy texture, you can substitute regular milk for evaporated milk to create absolutely sumptuous scrambles.

Please note that you want to get evaporated milk, such as the Carnation brand, rather than sweetened condensed milk for this trick, as the two are not the same. First, crack eggs into a bowl and whisk in ¼ cup of canned evaporated milk for every four eggs, or about 1 tablespoon per egg. If you're looking to use another single ingredient to get fluffy and cloud-like eggs, consider adding a squeeze of lemon juice to the mix as well. Pour the mixture into a hot, greased pan and cook on medium-low until the bottom starts to set. Gently agitate and stir the eggs with a spatula until you get the texture you want. They should still be moist but not glossy once done.

Season them at the end with salt and pepper to taste, then serve them up on toast, on their own, or however you enjoy eggs. The scramble you end up with will have a fancy, restaurant-like mouthfeel and a light richness. The flavor of the eggs and any spices will still shine through, as the taste of the evaporated milk isn't overpowering. You can also use low-fat or nonfat evaporated milk if you'd prefer.

As it turns out, evaporated milk is a deliciously versatile ingredient. Because of this, it goes well with eggs in this and other dishes. The canned shelf-stable ingredient may look like a syrup or dessert topping, and that's not far from the truth. People have long used evaporated milk in confections, pies, cakes, candies, and more. In particular, it's often used in egg custard dishes as one of the base ingredients. Luckily, it's not very sweet on its own, unlike sweetened condensed milk, which means it doesn't add extra sugary flavor to custard or your scrambles.

For scrambled eggs, there are several reasons why it works so well. For one thing, the moisture in the evaporated milk creates steam during cooking, which makes the eggs fluffier. The moisture also keeps the eggs from drying out and becoming rubbery when heated. The dairy component creates a creamy flavor, which leads to a decadent mouthfeel in each luxurious bite.

Once you have the egg texture you want and have mastered using this ingredient, you can get creative with other mix-ins and toppings. Shredded cheese is a common ingredient in many scrambles. Green onions and hot sauce both add a pop of flavor and color when thrown on top. You can include cream with the eggs if you want additional richness, but it may be a more overpowering flavor compared to evaporated milk. So, while you really only need one ingredient to make scrambled eggs, evaporated milk is a surefire way to take the dish to a whole new level.