Stop adding butter to scrambled eggs when alternative gives 'richer' results

Scrambled eggs remain a beloved breakfast and brunch staple, offering substantial protein to get your day off to a strong start. Whether served on its own, atop a slice of toast, or as part of a full cooked breakfast, a generous helping of eggs rarely disappoints.

Both professional chefs and home cooks have their own favoured techniques for preparing scrambled eggs, each relying on a selection of trusted ingredients. Yet the distinction between a dull, uninspiring scramble and an exceptional one has little to do with method or equipment, according to chef and food writer Anne Wolf. Instead, it comes down to a single ingredient that can transform the dish entirely.

For Anne, it all hinges on butter, though not just any variety. With numerous types of butter on the market, Anne has experimented with them all to determine which delivers the richness she seeks.

Anne noted that options such as clarified butter and browned butter will only provide a fraction of the depth and flavour required. Instead, she opts for ghee, prizing it for its fattiness and toasted notes, describing it as the "easiest upgrade" to your morning eggs, reports the Express.

Ghee is a form of liquid or semi-solid clarified butter with origins in the Indian subcontinent. It is produced by simmering butter until all moisture evaporates and the milk solids turn brown, before straining away the residue.

This process produces a rich, nutty-flavoured butter with a notably high smoke point. Writing for Simply Recipes, she explained: "Clarified butter gets you partway there, with a rich fat that won't scorch. Browned butter gets you flavour, but toast it again in a hot pan and you're flirting with burnt bitterness.

"Ghee splits the difference. It combines clarified butter's discipline with browned butter's payoff, and is the easiest upgrade you can make to your morning eggs."

While browned butter can lend a wonderful depth to scrambled eggs, there is always the danger of overdoing it and ending up with an unpleasant, burnt flavour. Ghee sits neatly between browned and clarified butter, being produced in a comparable fashion to the latter.

Ghee is capable of withstanding temperatures of up to 485℉ (251℃), compared to vegetable oils, which typically range from 400℉ (204℃) to 450℉ (226℃).

How to make scrambled eggs with ghee

Much like vegetable oil or clarified butter, add an equivalent amount of ghee to the pan — just enough to coat the surface. Then prepare your scrambled eggs as you normally would, whisking them in a bowl along with any additional ingredients such as cream or crème fraîche.

Season the eggs to your usual preference before cooking them in the pan as you ordinarily would. Unlike standard butter, ghee requires a hot pan from the outset, so resist the urge to add it to a cold pan. Serve topped with your preferred herbs and seasonings, alongside whichever breakfast accompaniments take your fancy.