Eggs ’n’ acid

A brilliant way to improve scrambled eggs: whisk a small amount of Dijon mustard with the eggs. More flavor!

But also: better texture. It’s science. From Samin Nosrat, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking (2017):

Acid encourages the proteins in an egg white to assemble, or coagulate, more quickly but less densely than they otherwise would. Under normal conditions, strands of egg proteins unravel and tighten when heated. As they do, the strands squeeze out water, causing eggs to toughen and dry out. Acid draws egg proteins together before they can unravel, which inhibits them from joining too closely. A few secret drops of lemon juice will produce creamier, more tender scrambled eggs. For perfect poached eggs, add a capful of vinegar into boiling water to help speed up coagulation of the white and strengthen the outer texture, while preserving the runny yolk.

Acid aids in stabilizing whipped egg whites by encouraging more, finer air pockets, helping to increase the volume of the egg white foam. Though cream of tartar — a by-product of wine-making — is the form of acid traditionally added to egg whites as they’re whipped for meringues, cakes, and soufflés, a few drops of vinegar or lemon juice per egg white will yield a similar result.

Nosrat doesn’t mention mustard. But yes, mustard is acidic.

Thanks, Ben, for better scrambled eggs.

[I’ve followed the title on the book’s cover, which differs from the Library of Congress version inside.]