What shape is a French omelette and how is it achieved?

Question

I've seen them shaped like a rugby ball (but longer) but geometrically can't see how a circle can be folded into such a shape.

I've also ordered French omelettes from menus before and they weren't pinched in at the ends.

Is there a classic shape, or is a French omelette just one that is not set as much with no browning?

Asked by jontyc

Answer

There isn't a standardised shape as such, but the rugby ball shape is common. To achieve this shape, all you have to do is cook your omelette (French style uses a super-hot pan and lots of butter), then roll three quarters of it up in the pan.

Then nudge the omelette up the side of the pan a little, so that it partly protrudes over the edge, which will then allow you to flip the remaining quarter back over onto the rest of the omelette. You should now have a rugby ball shape with a 'seam', i.e. the edge of the omelette - simply turn this out so the 'seam' is on the plate and you have a nice smooth omelette showing on top.

Answered by ElendilTheTall

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How to succeed with making omelette

Question

Sounds simple but I seem to fail every time, that is it turns into scrambled eggs instead. How do you make it so you can flip it over without it breaks or before it burns.

Asked by Zitrax

Answer

This depends on which type of omelet you want to make, I'll run through the three types I know how to make.

The thick Waffle House style omelet (it's the kind that poofs up and is about an inch thick all the way around, IHOP also serves this omelet) is achieved by beating the eggs and incorporating a LOT of air in to the mixture. Restaurants do this by using a milkshake machine to whip the eggs. This type of omelet is easy to flip and cook, you just put enough butter to coat the pan, pour off any excess and then pour your egg mixture in to the pan (you are going to have to use an omelet pan for this). Let the omelet cook while occasionally swirling the pan in a circular motion. When the omelet has cooked most of the way through flip by either the toss in the air and catch in the pan method (not for beginners!) or the fork and spatula method (place spatula underneath and hold omelet onto the spatula with a fork on one corner). This will yield a thick fluffy omelet but it can be hard to work enough air into the eggs at home.

The second type is the French omelet and it doesn't require flipping at all. The french omelet is what you see in fine dining brunches if you see it at all in the U.S. This omelette is made by mixing your eggs and pouring the mixture into a medium low heat pan. As it cooks you take a fork and pull the cooked egg off the bottom and into the center of the omelet. Here is a video that goes more in depth.

The third type is what I call the grandma omelet. It's made in a frying pan instead of an omelet pan and features a fairly flat egg wrapped around some cheese and other toppings. For this omelet you need medium heat. You should coat the pan with butter and pour in the egg mixture to a heated pan. Let cook for a minute or two, then swirl the uncooked egg to the outside of the pan use a fork to lift the very edge to allow the uncooked egg to take the place of the cooked next to the pan. Let the egg cook till desired doneness (side note: your omelet should and will have a small amount of uncooked but heated egg, it should be not runny, but still not be entirely set) and add toppings and fold over. Then serve.

To address your scrambled egg problem, you need to let the egg set more before attempting the flip and lowering the heat on your pan will take care of the burning. Just remember that eggs are extremely delicate and respond better to lower heat and close attention.

Also the names are just the ones I use in my head, if somebody knows the correct terminology, let me know and I'll update to reflect it.

Answered by sarge_smith

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How can you cook multiple omelets without burning them?

Question

Over the weekend, I was making omelets for 5 people in a single frying pan. The first few came out fine, but by the time I got to the fifth one...well, I'm glad that one was mine. The pan had gotten so hot that the eggs burned almost immediately, and while it was still edible, it certainly wasn't good.

How can I prevent the pan from overheating when cooking for multiple people? I've had this problem before with some other foods as well (e.g., quesadillas), but the problem is most pronounced with eggs, at least for me.

Asked by VolcanoLotus

Answer

I have had the same issue when cooking lots of quesadillas, and have found the following combination of techniques to work quite well.

The obvious answer has been hit upon already, lower the heat. But I think that's missing an important aspect of the issue. What's happening is most likely that you are turning on the heat and then cooking your first omelet before the pan has actually reached temperature. Depending on the type of pan, it can take up to 5 mins for the pan to reach temperature. So, as you continue to cook, the pan is getting closer to temperature. Of course, each time you add more cold egg, the temp decreases again. So your heat is too hot, but it doesn't really become apparent until the last omelet. Rather than just starting at a lower temperature though, start at the same temp you tried and then turn down the temperature as you continue to cook.

The pan can also heat rapidly between omelets. Take the pan off the heat, swirl your butter or oil through it, add the egg, and then put it back on the heat. If it seems really hot when you add the egg, you can cook it for a second with just the radiant heat of the pan before returning to the burner. This will stop the pan from getting too hot between omelets.

Answered by yossarian

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Is the Tortilla de Patatas modification to include carrots reasonable and can you cook inside a casserole dish to make it taller?

Question

I want to make Tortilla de Patatas but I have extra carrots that I would like to use somewhere. Can I include them in the frying phase? And can the dish be cooked in a casserole dish in the oven instead to make a very tall 'omelet'?

Answer

If you would like to add carrots, make sure you cut them small enough (since it takes quite a while to get them soft). I'm not 100% sure it would be a good fit, but that's up to you.

You certainly can make a tortilla in the oven, I've done so in a spring form. I think I did it for about 45 min in an oven of 180°C/350°F. But this depends of course on how much food you use and how big your form is. Just keep an eye on it, the egg should be fully cooked and the potatoes soft.

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Why did my omelette turn gray?

Question

I made an omelette today, and it turned out gray. I'm supposing this is because I did some things wrong, the question is what?

• Beating the eggs too long
• Mixing the eggs with cream cheese before beating the eggs
• Too much oil in the pan

My guess is the first two reasons. Do you think that's likely or could it be something else?

Answer

I have a theory about your omelette (and sadly, no means to test it). But I think it is plausible, please feel free to point out logical errors.

I think that the unappetizing coloring is due to the creation of sulfur salts in your pan. Egg whites are rich in sulfur, as are all alliums (including chives). If you heat them enough (you don't mention whether you overcooked the omelette, but it happens often enough), the heat changes the molecules in which the sulfur is bound, and the sulfur atoms (or sulfur containing ions) are free to react with whatever they find around. If they happen to find iron or copper, they form sulfides and sulfates with them. These sulfides and sulfates have colors ranging from blue to green, and pure iron sulfide is black. A mixture of them with the yellow yolk can easily look gray, especially when the color is desaturated through the addition of white cream cheese.

You say you used a coated pan, but there are still possible sources for the iron and copper. First, nuts contain trace elements, including iron and copper. Second, yolks too contain iron (in fact, the bluish coloring on the surface of a hard boiled yolk is an iron sulfide created when the proteins in the egg white denaturated from the heat). Third, you can't exclude contamination of the ingredients (plants sometimes store metal ions from the environment).

I have no way to prove any of the above, but at least it sounds like a good working theory. But I will understand if you aren't eager to reproduce in order to investigate the effect closer.

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Does a Romanian omletă ţărănească (peasant omelette) have standard ingredients?

Question

I am currently travelling in Romania and have been enjoying a breakfast each morning of "omletă ţărănească", which can be translated to English as "peasant omelette".

What I'm wondering is whether it has a standard fixed list of ingredients or is it one of those dishes where you throw in "whatever is laying about" (or at least typical Romanian ingredients laying about).

The one I just ate seemed to contain at least tomato, mushroom, bits of bacon, and those pale green bell peppers common in the Balkans.

There doesn't seem to be an article on it in Wikipedia and I've seen it on the menu of two restaurants in the same small town which makes me think it should be a typical dish.

Answer

Judging from search results and the handy firefox babelfish addon, the peasant (or country-style) omelette seems to be, as you suspected, one of those dishes where anything handy is thrown in.

EDIT: the firefox addon is actually unnecessary as google provides an option on the search results page for translated versions of the search results.

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