Some people seem to whip up perfect eggs effortlessly. They have complete control of the yolk gooeyness level in fried eggs, the curd size in scrambled, and the pan flip when cooking an omelet.

It’s not a mysterious art. In fact, egg cooking is rooted in science, in how egg proteins react as temperature in the pot or pan creeps up, the way wet heat differs from dry heat, and the fact that there are two different textures of egg white in every egg.

And yet, eggs are also totally mundane, even pedestrian, says egg whisperer Kenji López-Alt. The Serious Eats culinary director and author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science has spent hours testing whites and yolks, trying to decode better practices for the home cook. 

“They’re inexpensive, they’re healthy, and they’re good,” he says. “They’re the first thing a lot of people learn how to cook, and there are probably more ways to cook an egg than anything else.”

That means that while eggs are easy to learn, they’re harder to fully master. With López-Alt’s help, we’ll get you on your way to understanding the nuances of various methods and preparations—whether that’s yellow-centered boiled eggs, crispy-edged fried eggs, perfectly oozy poached eggs, or scrambled eggs with exemplary curds.

Here's the complete guide to cooking eggs at home.

Fresh eggs from healthy hens taste the best. They have firm yolks that don’t easily cave in, and their whites are thick; in just-gathered eggs, the whites are actually cloudy. To make sure that the eggs you buy are indeed the freshest you can access at the supermarket, locate the Julian date, says López-Alt. That’s the three-digit number next to the sell-by date, and it designates the day of the year on which your dozen were packed. Look for the one closest to today’s day number.

A good whack of the shell means your eggs will break evenly, and you won’t end up with jagged bits in your breakfast sandwich. If you’re starting out, use two hands; if you’re more adept, you can try cracking with just one. Either way, just practice. “You crack a lot of eggs, you get better at it,” says López-Alt. For scrambled eggs and omelets, you’ll obviously crack your eggs into a bowl and then whisk them up before proceeding. For fried eggs, López-Alt doesn’t bother. “Just crack them right into the pan,” he says.

The old diner designations of sunny-side up or over-easy refer to fried eggs styles that cook well on a flattop griddle but don't translate perfectly to the home kitchen's frying pan. So, your menu choices are a little different. López-Alt recommends thinking about the textures you'd like your your white and your yolk to have before you start. That goal will help you choose your method. You can aim for crispy or velvety whites, for gooey yolks or solid ones, or anything in between.

But, as López-Alt writes on Serious Eats, “For me, a fried egg should taste fried.”

If you concur, the task ahead is this: You need to heat the edges of the eggs whites to dehydrate, then brown, before the yolk overcooks. To make a crispy egg, heat a small frying pan (cast-iron, nonstick, or carbon steel) up for a few minutes with a few tablespoons of oil—be generous! When the oil shimmers, crack in the egg. Then, as the whites begin to set, tilt the pan back towards you and spoon hot oil back over the whites. Avoid pouring the oil over the yolk for a dramatic visual, “unless you’re turned off by any kind of uncooked egg white,” in which case you can spoon the oil over the top of the yolk to cook that bit of white. You’ll lose sight of the beautiful yellow circle, but you’ll preserve the gooey yolk beneath. 

This isn’t to say that there aren’t dozens of other ways to fry eggs, like over low or with butter to keep the whites soft, or with a drop of water in the pan and a lid to create some steam, which can help the egg whites get fully cooked on top. Experiment until you find the kind of taste and texture you like. 

Poached eggs are billowy clouds of egg white with their yolks left quite runny. To make some, bring a pot of water to boil, then lower the heat so it’s just barely simmering. You should add salt for flavor, says López-Alt. But he skips the vinegar, which can help the eggs set. “I think it gives them a chalky texture,” he says. Crack your egg into a small wire mesh sieve held over a bowl. Let the thin part of the egg white drip off, then gently lower the egg into the pot. This eliminates the wisps that sometimes gather around the more solid part of the egg white. As your egg cooks, use a spoon to move it around the pot a little, since the metal at the bottom is the hottest part, and one side can get overcooked. As soon as the whites have set, pull the eggs from the pot with a slotted spoon.

“The other nice thing about poached eggs,” says López-Alt, “is you can do them in advance.” Simply poach as normal, transfer to a container filled with cold water, and store in the fridge. Reheat in a bowl of hot (not boiling) water for a few minutes.

To scramble, first crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk them well. Add the salt before cooking them, since it slightly loosens up the proteins, helping them retain moisture during cooking.

If you like creamy eggs, you’ll want to pick a nonstick pan. Add a little butter, then the beaten eggs. Turn on the heat and keep it as low as possible. Cook using a silicone-coated whisk to keep the curds small. Take the eggs off just before they’re done, so they can finish cooking on your plate. 

If you like a fluffier scramble, the pan is less important (they don’t stick as much). Get the heat high. Add butter, then, when it foams, use a silicon spatula to mix the eggs around as they solidify, creating larger curds.

For either style, mix in herbs or grated cheese at the end.

Boiling an egg pretty much consists of taking an egg—still in its shell—and cooking it in hot water. Though this sounds simple, there are some important rules to follow to get the best results. In the interest of making eggs easy to peel, pick older eggs if you can, since they have more air between the white and the shell. And—here’s one of López-Alt’s big innovations—put the eggs right into boiling water instead of cold water, which can make the egg white seep into the shell. Use a pan that is relatively tight for the number of eggs you need. You can use as little as an inch of water in your pan, which cuts down on preparation time. Set the timer depending on how you like your yolks: 6 minutes for soft boiled, 11 minutes for yolks that are completely solid.

The creamy, elegant French-style omelet has a just barely golden exterior and a just barely cooked interior. It’s dense and rich—and it takes some practice to get it right. Heat a nonstick or cast iron for a few minutes over high heat. Beat your eggs well with salt, as if you were making scrambled eggs. Then, add a big pat of butter. “It should melt very, very rapidly,” says López-Alt. As soon as it’s melted, pour in the eggs, and beat them in the skillet, with the heat still high. (He uses a nylon fork designed for this purpose to do the mixing in the skillet.) When the eggs are just set, turn off the heat and roll the omelet in thirds as you push it out of the pan (watching Jacques Pepin demonstrate is the easiest way to learn). 

Your egg’s taste and texture will influence how you decide to serve it. “The first thing I’m thinking about is what I want from the final egg product,” López-Alt says. If you have super crunchy toast, perhaps you want a softer egg for balance. If you’re running out the door with your egg sandwich, best to break up the yolk in the pan so it doesn’t run down your sleeve. If you’re making a croque madame—a ham and cheese sandwich with an egg on top—you might want the look of a fried egg but opt to keep the whites tender, instead of crispy. For scrambled, soft versus hard is a matter of taste, and an easy way to get in an argument. Poached eggs are required for eggs Benedict, but they’re also a good pick when you’re looking for a preparation that’s more tender and subtle than a fried egg. “Poached eggs are good on top of things,” says López-Alt. “They provide a sauce. And they don’t affect the textural quality of a food.”