Julia Child’s Easy Scrambled Eggs for Kids

I almost passed up this recipe. It looked like there was too much butter and too much fuss for just scrambled eggs. Well, let me tell you, these are not just scrambled eggs. They’re also not everyday scrambled eggs. They’re a festive, celebration scramble.   

While I always think of perfect scrambled eggs as being fluffy, I felt that my rendition exchanged fluffiness for moist pillows of buttery, custardy, soft, indulgent curds… I salivate while I write…

I served mine dressed with a generous sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley and a pinch of flake salt on scallion pancakes. The flavour and texture is so silky and unctuous that you could be satisfied with just a bowl of these eggs and a perfectly brewed coffee. Sigh.

It took a little getting used to the idea that these are not the kind of scrambled eggs most of us have been eating all our lives, however, I really enjoyed their supremely creamy texture–almost more like a custard.

I cooked the eggs for 10 minutes total over a relatively low heat stirring all the while and they were soft with a nice mouthfeel so I didn’t feel that I had overcooked them. I chose to use a non-stick skillet rather than stainless steel or earthenware because I was afraid the eggs would stick to the bottom of those other surfaces.

I’ve been making scrambled eggs for most of my life now; I didn’t think there was anything left to say about them. I suppose this is more of a method than an actual recipe, but the resulting eggs were soft, delicate, creamy and custardy.  The texture was almost rice pudding or tapioca-like. My 15 year old daughter and I ate all 8 eggs between the two of us with toast points for dinner. The lesson here: much lower and slower than my usual method, and many more eggs in a much smaller pan than my usual method. We really liked them!

It did feel a little funny to test a recipe as simple as scrambled eggs but I figured I’d give it a whirl and see if I learned anything new. I can’t really say that I did. They turned out perfectly fine but not a knock your socks off recipe but that’s because it’s so simple. I think quality of ingredients make the most difference. But this made a nice Saturday morning breakfast with bacon for us!

This recipe for scrambled eggs isn’t necessarily revolutionary but it is a good primer on how to use patience and low heat to achieve very creamy, luscious curds. They are, indeed, ‘custardy’ as promised. So many times I think that we rush the cooking of eggs over too-high heat, so this is a shift in mindset and a reminder to keep it low and slow for the best results. I used cream for the final enrichment and found it to be too rich and neutral in flavor. Next time I’m definitely be using butter!

These scrambled eggs tasted so decadent that you would never guess that the only ingredients are eggs and butter. I usually salt my eggs after cooking them, but the little bit of salt used while cooking and using salted butter made that unnecessary. Adding the eggs to a cold pan was new for me, but it worked like a charm. I didn’t know I needed one, but I have a new go-to recipe for scrambled eggs!