The Classic Bagel Topping That Rescues Overcooked Scrambled Eggs

Scrambled eggs are deceptively difficult to cook. Restaurants will often test a new chef's cooking prowess by asking them to cook a perfect omelet or egg. Scrambled eggs can go from perfectly tender and fluffy to an overcooked rubbery mess in seconds. Gordon Ramsay's key to the creamiest scrambled eggs is adding crème fraiche, which makes the eggs more unctuous and luxurious. If you've ever taken your eyes off your scrambled eggs at just the wrong moment and accidentally overcooked them, there is a simple fix with an ingredient that you probably have in your refrigerator, and that's not too far off from Ramsay's crème fraiche.

While your overcooked eggs are still in the pan, simply add a little cream cheese. If you get to the overcooked eggs quickly, adding cream cheese will ensure the texture remains creamy, and you won't even notice that the egg was momentarily dried out. Cream cheese has a bit of tanginess, which adds a nice flavor to balance the richness of eggs. Food Network star Molly Yeh relies on cream cheese when she makes scrambled eggs, even if she doesn't accidentally overcook them. She likens the tang of cream cheese to the acidity of ketchup, which many of us slathered over our eggs as kids.

Cream cheese is not the only cheese that can be added to save the day. Saltier cheese like feta and goat cheese can boost the flavor, while their creamy texture helps the eggs stay moist. Feeling fancy? Add some Boursin to your nearly-over-cooked eggs, serve on a brioche bun, and pretend you meant to do it all along. And, cheese is not the only dairy product that can aid in rescuing your scrambled eggs. The best-scrambled egg recipe uses half and half and butter to add creaminess and richness to the eggs. In fact, in a time-honored trick, many cooks rely on adding cold cream at the end of the scrambling process to avoid the danger of overcooking the eggs in the first place.

If you want to embrace the cream cheese and bagel combination, you could follow Ree Drummond's scrambled egg recipe, in which she adds smoked salmon and fresh chives to the eggs as they finish cooking. She uses half and half in her recipe, but cream cheese is a substitution that makes sense. Or throw in some everything bagel seasoning with the cream cheese, and serve it as you meant it. Mound the eggs on a perfectly toasted bagel, and you'll forget the over-cooked eggs-induced panic at the first mouthful.