- I followed Bobby Flay's recipe for perfect eggs using crème fraîche, sour cream, and Greek yogurt.
- The eggs made with sour cream were buttery but the recipe with Greek yogurt tasted bland and watery.
- The eggs made with crème fraîche tasted the best, but I'd use sour cream if I tried the dish again.
Scrambled eggs can be a difficult breakfast staple to master, but according to celebrity chef Bobby Flay, you can avoid a rubbery or dry texture by using crème fraîche, a dairy product similar to sour cream.
With this specialty ingredient and a few other tips, Flay's recipe is supposed to yield amazing, silky eggs.
Since I don't often buy crème fraîche, I tried Flay's recipe and tested it out with two cheaper, similar alternatives that I usually have on hand to see if they would yield similar results.
First, I made eggs using sour cream instead of crème fraîche
I began with testing out the sour cream, which isn't as rich as crème fraîche but offers a similar tangy flavor and texture.
Following the basic steps of Flay's recipe, I put a pat of cold butter and sour cream in a pan.
I was careful not to use too much since I wanted enough to moisten the eggs without making them too wet to where they wouldn't cook.
I turned the burner to medium-low heat and added two whisked eggs. I constantly stirred the mixture with a rubber spatula, adding black pepper once the eggs began to hold their shape.
I turned the heat off shortly before the eggs looked done to keep the moisture and prevent overcooking and added the salt. According to Flay, the salt shouldn't be added until toward to end to ensure the eggs have those smooth curves.
I let the eggs cook for about a minute in the hot pan with the gas burner turned off.
Using sour cream was the most cost-effective, but the texture wasn't even throughout
The eggs definitely looked smoother than when I usually make them, and they smelled buttery and even slightly cheesy.
The eggs tasted good — a little buttery and no tang from the sour cream.
Despite my constant stirring, I thought they had an uneven texture, as a few bites were slightly rubbery and dry or a little too wet for my taste.
This ingredient is the cheapest of the three options I tried so, even if the eggs weren't the best, I'd still add a little sour cream if I had it on hand and wanted scrambled eggs.
The Greek yogurt didn't add the same richness as the other ingredients I tested
Next, I followed the same recipe and steps using a similar amount of Greek yogurt, which blended into the eggs seamlessly while cooking.
I knew after the first bite that this ingredient was not a good alternative to Flay's recommended crème fraîche.
The dish looked creamier than the eggs made with sour cream, but the non-fat Greek yogurt had created a uniform rubbery texture.
I think one issue is that I accidentally used a yogurt without fat. Because Greek yogurt is so tangy, even more so than sour cream, I think that flavor masked the taste of the butter, salt, and eggs and resulted in an overall blandness.
The dish also was slightly watery and left a small pool of liquid on my plate.
Finally, I tested Flay's tried-and-true crème fraîche, which pleasantly surprised me
The crème fraîche had the thickest texture of the three, so I expected the eggs to be pretty rich.
I followed the same steps, noticing how effortlessly the crème fraîche melted into the whisked eggs.
This dish with crème fraîche took slightly longer to cook, but the eggs seemed moist and fluffy without looking underdone.
Out of the three recipes, this one resulted in the best flavor and definitely didn't feel undercooked.
The flavor of these eggs was amazing. They tasted soft, rich, and buttery and nearly melted in my mouth, but they definitely didn't feel overcooked.
The creamy eggs would work so well with salty, crispy hash browns, roasted veggies, or a really good crusty bread.
The eggs with crème fraîche tasted the best, but I'd use sour cream if I made the recipe again
Though I thought the eggs made with crème fraîche tasted the best, I would use the cheaper alternative, sour cream, if I tried Flay's recipe again.
I don't often have crème fraîche on hand, so it would also be easier to use the sour cream since I usually buy it anyway.
That being said, if I wanted a more indulgent version of this breakfast staple, I'd totally add crème fraîche to my grocery list.