Alton Brown’s Secret to Better Scrambled Eggs Might Surprise You

Everyone has their own personal trick to get smoother, fluffier scrambled eggs. Some people add milk, cream, or crème fraîche. Others cook them super low and slow, or have a special way to stir them. But what if the best trick to get fluffier scrambled eggs just involved more eggs?

Okay, more eggs in a specific form: mayonnaise. In his 2016 book Everyday Cook, Alton offers a recipe for scrambled eggs — with an interesting ingredient addition. In “Scrambled Eggs V3.0,” he uses a teaspoon of mayonnaise (and one of water) whisked into the eggs before scrambling.

Surely the mayo-haters and egg-purists have just taken their gasps in unison. But his logic for why he would add mayonnaise (which is, of course, simply eggs and oil) to scrambled eggs (which is, of course, basically eggs cooked in oil or butter), seems as sound as ever — and his recipes rarely let cooks down. “Since scrambled eggs are essentially an emulsion,” he explains after, “I figure why not enhance their texture with another emulsion?” The results, he says, are creamier than egg or egg and dairy alone can produce.

But know that the mayonnaise addition is a pure texture move, and isn’t there for the flavor — his recipe actually also includes harissa paste for that purpose. He promises that you won’t suddenly be eating mayo-flavored eggs. In fact, he specifically states that “You’ll never know the mayo is in there until you go and leave it out.” It seems like a trick worth a try. But don’t worry — we still promise you won’t find us dropping dollops of mayo into our coffee.