How to make the best scrambled eggs is a matter of some contention. Some hold that the best scrambled eggs include secret ingredients, added to help fluff the eggs or give them an extra pinch of flavor. Others believe the best scrambled eggs are simply eggs, but cooked to perfection by following a few simple rules of thumb. We’ll look at the purest sense of scrambled eggs here, focusing on how to make eggs themselves as light and fluffy as possible.

At their most basic, scrambled eggs are simply the yolks and whites of eggs beaten together and fried up on a pan of some sort. Some people add cream, vegetable or meat stocks, milk, oil, or water while they’re still liquid, and saffron, paprika, salt, pepper, cheese, and vegetables or meat while they’re being cooked. Scrambled eggs can be prepared on a cast-iron skillet, a griddle, a sauté pan, or a simple non-stick frying pan.

For a purist, scrambled eggs include nothing but eggs themselves, and maybe a pinch of salt or pepper. Anything else becomes closer to an omelette, or some sort of specialty flavored scrambled eggs. Even within a purist’s vision of scrambled eggs, however, there is a lot of room to make improvements and do things correctly or incorrectly.

Probably one of the most important and underappreciated parts of making great scrambled eggs is beating them well. Air is, after all, what makes scrambled eggs truly light and fluffy, and although people try to fake it with milk or butter, great fluffy scrambled eggs need nothing more than proper beating technique. Scrambled eggs should be whisked in a bowl at a tilted angle, so that the whisk moves from the bottom to the top, rather than stirring around the edge of the bowl. The eggs should be whisked until they are a nice, even color throughout, and fairly frothy, which usually takes about two minutes. Overbeating the eggs unravels the proteins and makes for tightly packed scrambled eggs.

Many people actually encouraging blending eggs in a blender to get a consistent texture. If using a blender, it’s a good idea not to blend them anymore than 20 to 25 seconds, otherwise they can start to fall apart and make poor scrambled eggs. An electric mixer can also be used, and should be set somewhere in the middle, at roughly the same speed as a hand whisk.

If you’re going for large, fluffy eggs, it’s a good idea to let them sit for a few seconds once you throw them into a frying pan, before stirring them in the pan with a wooden spoon. As soon as they start to set they should be pushed towards the center, and the pan should be tilted slightly so that runny bits are quickly brought into contact with the pan.

Even within a fairly purist perspective, many people do believe a bit of butter should be used to fry the eggs in, some salt should be used to season, and some low-fat milk should be used in the mixture. Generally people recommend about one teaspoon of milk for each egg used, a dash of salt for every two eggs, and a full tablespoon of butter for about a half dozen or so eggs.