This Surprising Ingredient Makes the Fluffiest Eggs, According to a Chef (2024)

I had to try it to believe it.

By

PJ O'neal

This Surprising Ingredient Makes the Fluffiest Eggs, According to a Chef (1)

PJ O'neal is one of New York City's dynamic food educators, writers, and food advocates. He has over five years creating food programming and cooking curriculum for many sectors. He also curates NYC food guides and tours on his travel website thestudioemcee.com.

Published on April 6, 2024

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This Surprising Ingredient Makes the Fluffiest Eggs, According to a Chef (2)

Many people may find it hard to believe that I started cooking at six years old. You may be thinking, what parent allows their six year old near a stove? Well my grandmother did. She was old-school, so she practiced the art of tough love. The first thing she ever taught me to make was scrambled eggs. Making eggs is one of the easiest things to make as a novice cook. Then you go to culinary school and realize you were wrong.

Making the perfect eggs can start a conversation, and I assure you everyone will tell you something different. However, when I came across an Instagram reel of Michelin starred chef, José Andrés, on What Happens Now with Andy Cohen, I knew I had to try the chef’s go-to egg method.

Andrés was given the task to name five “foolproof dishes” to avoid dinner party disasters. His number one foolproof dish is a fluffy, microwaved omelet with the key ingredient being mayonnaise. That’s right, folks. Mayo is the secret ingredient to ensure your eggs are the fluffiest around.

Why You Should Add Mayo to Your Eggs

Mayonnaise is actually made out of eggs (and oil and lemon juice or vinegar), so it's not that weird of an ingredient to add to eggs—you're just mixing egg with egg. Mayonnaise is an emulsion—when you make it, you are whipping the egg yolk with oil and lemon juice or vinegar. As you whip, the oil and lemon or vinegar is being suspended into the tiny water droplets from the yolk. The lecithin protein from the yolk helps bind the two together to form a new airy structure that won't separate. A similar reaction occurs when you mix the mayo with the beaten eggs. The mayo helps to stabilize the mixture and incorporate more egg into the eggs, making them fluffy. Plus, the extra fat can also make them silkier, and more rich.

I knew I had to try this for myself. Once I whisked the two eggs with a teaspoon of mayo, I microwaved it for exactly one minute. You do get a slight mayo scent when you take a whiff, but if you’re like me, it’s not a deal breaker. Nevertheless, the hack provided a fluffy end result, and I was surprised to see such a good omelet without using the stove. Take that, countless hours of practicing in culinary school!

How To Make the Fluffiest Eggs With Mayo

Incorporating mayo into your eggs is very simple. Just crack two eggs into a mixing bowl, add a teaspoon of mayonnaise (though you can adjust the amount based on your preference), salt, and pepper, and whisk until all the ingredients are evenly mixed. Now according to Andrés, the cooking method of choice is a microwave. Yes, a microwave. Pour the mixture into a microwave safe bowl and heat it for about a minute. I promise you, your eggs will be silky, fluffy, and smooth. It can even pass for a quick omelet.

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This Surprising Ingredient Makes the Fluffiest Eggs, According to a Chef (2024)

FAQs

This Surprising Ingredient Makes the Fluffiest Eggs, According to a Chef? ›

Andrés was given the task to name five “foolproof dishes” to avoid dinner party disasters. His number one foolproof dish is a fluffy, microwaved omelet with the key ingredient being mayonnaise. That's right, folks. Mayo is the secret ingredient to ensure your eggs are the fluffiest around.

What is the key to fluffy eggs? ›

Adding a tablespoon or two of milk, sour cream, heavy whipping cream, or our personal favorite, crème fraîche, to the egg mixture will help the eggs remain moist and fluffy as they cook. If you're unable to add dairy to the eggs, don't worry. You can still achieve fluffy scrambled eggs without milk!

What is the secret ingredient to add to scrambled eggs? ›

Some Southerners swear by adding a little milk, cheese, or even sour cream to their scrambled eggs to give the dish a delicious finish, but there is one secret ingredient that is sure to result in the fluffiest scrambled eggs you've ever tasted or served. It's water. That's right.

How do hotels get their eggs so fluffy? ›

The key is to always add one tablespoon of water per egg and one teaspoon of margarine or whipped butter per egg.

How does IHOP make their eggs so fluffy? ›

IHOP's Secret to the Fluffiest Egg Omelet

That's right, there's a “splash” of IHOP's “famous buttermilk and wheat pancake batter” in their omelets. This “spill,” revealed earlier this year on TikTok, was both enlightening and enraging.

How to make fluffy eggs Gordon Ramsay? ›

directions
  1. Break eggs into a pan and add the cubed butter.
  2. Stir over a medium heat until the eggs start to cook. Remove from heat continue stirring eggs for about 20 second. ...
  3. Remove from heat when eggs are clumpy, but soft.
  4. Season with freshly ground black pepper and garnish with a sprinkling of chopped chives.

What liquid makes eggs fluffy? ›

But you don't need that much water to achieve fluff. Even a little makes a difference. As cookbook author J. Kenji-López-Alt explains it in The Food Lab, adding water to scrambled eggs “means more vaporization occurs, creating larger bubbles in the eggs and lightening them.”

What makes eggs fluffier water or milk? ›

Preferring water over milk isn't just our opinion—science also supports using water over milk (if you want fluffy eggs). Adding water to eggs essentially steams them, as the water evaporates during cooking, and this yields a fluffier scramble.

What gives a higher volume and better texture to scrambled eggs? ›

Pre-salting helps eggs retain moisture and tenderness. A small proportion of milk provides a sense of creamy richness, without going overboard. Adding the eggs to a hot pan encourages the formation of big, fluffy curds.

Does vinegar make eggs fluffier? ›

It also helps to make little air pockets within the scrambled egg. What this means, in practical terms, is that a little citrus juice or vinegar helps to keep your scrambled eggs super-soft when cooked over low heat — and makes them fluffier, too.

Do you use baking soda or baking powder for eggs? ›

For recipes which use eggs primarily as a leavening agent you can try a commercial egg replacement product (see above) or the following mixture: 1-1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil mixed with 1-1/2 tablespoons water and 1 teaspoon baking powder per egg. Note: this mixture calls for baking powder, not baking soda.

Do restaurants put milk in their scrambled eggs? ›

If restaurants are adding milk it's to stretch the eggs out to make it look like you're getting more, but it doesn't even do that. It just dilutes the flavor of the eggs and makes them bland as well as colorless.

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