Does adding salt before cooking toughen scrambled eggs?
I have been told by two different cooks who's opinions I trust that adding salt to a beaten egg mixture before cooking will dry out and/or toughen the eggs, but also that adding salt at this stage seasons the eggs, and does not affect texture. I can't tell the difference in texture, but my palate isn't the most refined. I imagine the salted eggs taste better, but it's a slight rather than dramatic difference, if there is a difference. Can anyone with a golden tongue or superior scientific method tell me whether to season before or after?
Best Answer
Per Harold McGee, in On Food and Cooking (page 86 of the 2004 edition), there is no truth to this common assertion.
Acids and salt do pretty much the same thing to egg proteins. They get the proteins together sooner, but they don't let them get as close together. That is, acids and salt make eggs thicken and coagulate at a lower temperature , but actually produce a more tender texture.
McGee explains that the salt separates into ions, which cluster around the charged regions of the egg proteins, allowing them to get closer before being denatured because they don't repel each other. This causes them to bond together earlier, before they become unfurled and could form tighter (and thus tougher networks).
McGee concludes:
So eggs end up more tender when salted, and especially when acidified.
So salt them when you beat them, or in the pan, in practice it will make little difference compared to many other factors, such as the temperature and technique with which you cook them.
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Quick Answer about "Does adding salt before cooking toughen scrambled eggs?"
Simply put, salting eggs before cooking them yields more tender eggs. As with brines and cures, salt takes some time to do its magic.Does salt make scrambled eggs tough?
Salt made very little difference on the final texture of the eggs, but, if anything, the longer the eggs were salted, the more tender and moist they were. While salt certainly doesn't hurt the eggs (and may even help), there's no question that the most important factor when cooking eggs is the cooking technique itself.Should you add salt to eggs before scrambling?
Whether you're set in your ways or living in the moment, salting early on (that is, as soon as you whisk the eggs together), can result in creamy scrambled eggs that are softer, lusher, and evenly seasoned.Can you add salt to eggs before cooking?
Acids and salt do pretty much the same thing to egg proteins. They get the proteins together sooner, but they don't let them get as close together. That is, acids and salt make eggs thicken and coagulate at lower cooking temperature, but actually produce a more tender texture.\u201dthe SCRAMBLED EGG SALT test
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