Yesterday’s breakfast sitting in the fridge and you’re feeling a little famished? You might be interested in knowing the following…
Can you reheat scrambled eggs in the microwave?
Yes, you can reheat scrambled eggs in the microwave.
They will heat easily and will be perfectly safe providing you cook them to the correct temperature – 160°F or 71°C is considered safe for eggs by the FDA.
Reheating scrambled eggs is particularly important as the usually resilient whole eggs become much more receptive to harmful pathogens when mixed up like this.
If you don’t have a thermometer, just make sure your eggs are piping hot before serving.
Is it a good idea to reheat scrambled eggs in the microwave?
If your primary motive is nice tasting eggs then reheated scrambled eggs does not really fit the bill.
Reheating eggs of any form is not ideal. It’s impossible to get that creamy and soft texture as the eggs will have set into clumps. Also, the microwave will dry the eggs out by heating up the water inside your food which turns it into steam.
In short, reheated scrambled eggs don’t taste great.
On the other hand, if your priority is a quick, convenient meal then knock yourself out. It’s perfectly safe.
How to reheat scrambled eggs in the microwave
1. Spread the scrambled eggs across the plate.
Microwaves can only penetrate 1-2cm into food, so by spreading your eggs out, you minimize the chances of inconsistently heated food and cool spots.
2. Spritz a little water over the eggs.
Adding some moisture to your eggs before it goes in the microwave helps to prevent (although is not 100% effective) at stopping the microwave drying the eggs out when reheating.
3. Put on “High” for 20 seconds per egg.
You can adjust heat depending on personal preference. Just remember to…
4. Make sure they are piping hot when cooked.
You want to make sure they are piping hot and let it cool down, this guarantees safety as the high heat will kill any harmful pathogens. Unfortunately, this high heat does cook the egg a little, as well as reheating, so your reheated scrambled egg will be firmer and more set than when you made it previously.
Safety tips for scrambled eggs
Scrambled eggs are one of the worst types of eggs for safety. Eggs are notably resilient to bacteria and other pathogens and stay fresh for weeks.
In their hard or soft boiled form, they still retain much of this resilience. When scrambled, however, they become much more vulnerable and must be looked after more carefully.
Don’t leave it in your fridge long before reheating and eating, no longer than four days. And when you reheat it’s important to make them hot.
You could go for a cooler temperature which will probably make the eggs nicer to eat, but this is playing with fire as not reaching a high enough temperature may expose you to harmful pathogens and other undesirables.
