Scrambled Eggs

A three-line recipe that leaves the two things that matter — heat and time — entirely to the cook. The proportions are sound; the method needs a modern gloss.

• The hinge: low heatThe instruction "stir constantly" only works over gentle heat. On a modern burner, keep it at medium-low or lower and take the pan off the heat while the eggs still look slightly underdone, since they carry on setting from residual heat.
• A tablespoon of milk per eggThat is a generous amount by current practice, and it produces a soft, loose curd rather than a fluffy one. Many modern recipes use less, a teaspoon or two per egg; the extra liquid can weep if the eggs are overcooked.
• "A light yellow mass"The phrase points to small, soft, evenly set curds with no browning and no visible liquid egg. Colour is the cue: if it darkens or the pan begins to smell nutty, the heat is too high.
• Butter quantityOne tablespoon per pan, not per egg, is what is meant here. In a well-seasoned or nonstick pan you can use less; in a bare steel or cast-iron pan use the full amount to keep the eggs from gripping.
• Frying pan sizeUse a pan just large enough to hold the eggs about half an inch deep. Spread too thin over a wide skillet, they set before you can stir them into curds.
• Season at the end if you likeThe recipe salts before cooking. Cooks differ on whether salting early or late gives the better texture; if it concerns you, hold the salt until the curds have formed.
• YieldNo quantity is given. Reckon two to three eggs per person, so six eggs with about six tablespoons of milk and one tablespoon of butter serves two to three.
• The stray words"ALUMET Salads" at the end is a fragment of printed page furniture, apparently a cropped "CALUMET" heading (the book was issued by the Calumet Baking Powder company) alongside a section title, and not part of the recipe.