Take a large spoon and stir it all up very quickly, scraping the bottom of the
frying-pan all the time, to prevent the omelet from sticking and burning. As soon
as it begins to set, take the frying-pan a little from the fire, and work the omelet
with a spoon into a half-moon shape. When it is nearly set, take the fiying-pan off
the fire, and hold it in front of the fire, resting the edge of the pan on the bottom
bar, and slanting the pan as much as possible ; but, of course, care must be taken
not to let the omelet slip right into the fire. Hold the frying-pan like this for a
couple of minutes or so. This causes the omelet to rise, and it thereby becomes
lighter. In large French kitchens, where there is no open fire, they hold a red-hot
salamander over the omelet, which has the same effect. A red-hot shovel does very
well if you have a shut-up range.
A sweet omelet is made in. exactly the same manner, only of course there is no
pepper, onion, or parsley, and only a tiny pinch of salt. Add, however, instead, a
tea-spoonful of very finely powdered sugar, and half a tea-spoonful of essence of
vanille. This last is an immense improvement. When an " omelette au confiture "
is required, the omelet must be kept in the frying-pan round, a spoonful of the jam
placed on the one half, and then the other half lifted over on to it with a slice, or
something broad, so as not to break it. An omelet must be served directly it is
cooked ; so if you want a good one, always take care not to begin to prepare it untQ
just before it is required to be eaten, as it only takes two or three minutes to make.
No great harm is done even if you have to wait for it.
As 1 said before, the secret of a light omelet is frothing the eggs. Why ? Because
by so "doing you mix the omelet up with an infinite number of tiny air-bubbles.
Now we all know that heat expands everything, air included. These little bubbles,
therefore — some, perhajis, the size of a pin's point — become under the action of heat
the size, possibly, of a pin's head ; and as long as the omelet remains hot it is light
— puffed out, in fact, by air-bubbles expanded by heat.
If you let the omelet get pai-tially cold, it in consequence gets heavy. This point
is, however, more strongly exemplified in the case of souffles. A cheese souffle is a
very nice thing to finish dinner with, and if you know how to make one, is a capital
extra dish in case some one comes in to dinner quite unexpectedly. I will try and
tell you how to make it, and also, as far as I can, explain why. ✪ Cheese Souffle
Page 3 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1892. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Take a large spoon and stir it all up very quickly, scraping the bottom of the frying-pan all the time, to prevent the omelet from sticking and burning. As soon as it begins to set, take the frying-pan a little from the fire, and work the omelet with a spoon into a half-moon shape. When it is nearly set, take the frying-pan off the fire, and hold it in front of the fire, resting the edge of the pan on the bottom bar, and slanting the pan as much as possible ; but, of course, care must be taken not to let the omelet slip right into the fire. Hold the frying-pan like this for a couple of minutes or so. This causes the omelet to rise, and it thereby becomes lighter. In large French kitchens, where there is no open fire, they hold a red-hot salamander over the omelet, which has the same effect. A red-hot shovel does very well if you have a shut-up range.
A sweet omelet is made in. exactly the same manner, only of course there is no pepper, onion, or parsley, and only a tiny pinch of salt. Add, however, instead, a tea-spoonful of very finely powdered sugar, and half a tea-spoonful of essence of vanilla. This last is an immense improvement. When an " omelette au confiture " is required, the omelet must be kept in the frying-pan round, a spoonful of the jam placed on the one half, and then the other half lifted over on to it with a slice, or something broad, so as not to break it. An omelet must be served directly it is cooked ; so if you want a good one, always take care not to begin to prepare it until just before it is required to be eaten, as it only takes two or three minutes to make. No great harm is done even if you have to wait for it.
As 1 said before, the secret of a light omelet is frothing the eggs. Why ? Because by so "doing you mix the omelet up with an infinite number of tiny air-bubbles. Now we all know that heat expands everything, air included. These little bubbles, therefore — some, perhaps, the size of a pin's point — become under the action of heat the size, possibly, of a pin's head ; and as long as the omelet remains hot it is light — puffed out, in fact, by air-bubbles expanded by heat.
If you let the omelet get partially cold, it in consequence gets heavy. This point is, however, more strongly exemplified in the case of souffles. A cheese souffle is a very nice thing to finish dinner with, and if you know how to make one, is a capital extra dish in case some one comes in to dinner quite unexpectedly. I will try and tell you how to make it, and also, as far as I can, explain why.
Records on this page
Cheese Souffle