Making Omelets

Ingredients

• Three or four eggs make a good-sized omelet
• a tablespoon butter
• a tablespoon cream to every two eggs
• a little salt
• a little pepper
• flour if any is used

Method

1. 1

   Beat the yolks lightly, add milk, salt, pepper, and flour.

2. 2

   Beat the whites to a stiff froth and fold in.

3. 3

   Heat a pan with butter, pour in the mixture, and cook until the underside is set.

4. 4

   Fold and serve immediately.

As published

This recipe was extracted from The new practical housekeeping (1890) by Estelle Woods Wilcox, page 164. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

MAKING OMELETS. There are numerous kinds of omelets, and, if properly made, they generally give satisfaction. As a rule an omelet is a wholesome, inexpensive dish, but yet one in the preparation of which cooks fre- ouentlv fail, owing to ignorance of detail. The ingredients used iasy be varied indefinitely, but the process is always the same. Beat 200 EGGS. the yolks lightly (twelve beats is said to be the magic number), as too much beating makes them thin and de- stroys the appearance of the omelet, then add the milk, the salt, pepper, and flour if any is used, and lastly the whites beaten to a stiff froth. Some claim that salt mixed with the omeict Pmn. eggs prevents them from rising and gives the omelet a flabby ap- pearance, and so sprinkle with a little salt just before turning out on dish, or salt at table. Have the frying or omelet pan hot and dry. The best way to insure this is to put a smjiU quantity of fat into the pan, let it simmer a few minutes, then pour it out, wipe the pan dry with a towel, and put in a tablespoon butter or American Cooking Oil and pour in the omelet, which should at once begin to bubble and rise in flakes ; care should be taken that the butter does not burn, thereby spoiling the color of the omelet. Slip under it a thin, broad-bladed knife, and every now and then raise it up to prevent burning, but never turn, as this flattens and toughens it. As soon as the under side is hard enough to hold togetjier, and the eggs be- gin to " set," fold over, shake the skillet so as to entirely free the omelet, carefully slide it on a hot platter, and serve at once. It should be cooked in from three to five minutes. Properly made, omelets are not exactly rolled up, but there is a knack to be learned of shaping in the pan by shaking them while cooking over to one side of pan, the side farthest away, while the handle is uplifted ; loosen the edges with a knife when it is cooked nearly enough to shake ; this is especially the case if a large pan is used, so that the eggs will cook in a small space upon one side of pan instead of spreading all over and becoming too dry, but a small-sized omelet pan, six or eight inches in diameter, is best, so that the mixture when put in /pan may be at least half an inch thick. One reason of ome- lets and all fried eggs sticking to the frying-pan is allowing the pan to get too hot. They seldom stick when poured into a pan that *8 kept not too hot till wanted. The pan should be used for no other purpose, and should be rubbed smooth, or polished, after using. To bake an omelet, place in the frying-pan on top of stove until it be- gins to "set" in the middle, then place in a rather hot oven ; when slightly browned, fold if liked, or turn a hot dish on top of the pan, upset the latter with a quick motion, and so dish the omelet with the under side uppermost. It should be baked in from fiv^ to ten EGGS. 2C1 minutes. When a large quantity of eggs is used, instead of mak- ing into one large omelet, divide and make several, sending each to the table as soon as done. Three or four eggs make a good-sized omelet, either fried or baked ; some think it an improvement to add a tablespoon cream to every two eggs

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.