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Vegetarian Cookery

A sweet omelet made with eggs, butter, powdered sugar, and optional jam or marmalade.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Payne, A. G. (Arthur Gay), 1840-1894 · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Orange and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,402 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Vegetarian Cookery

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Beat six eggs, adding one or two tablespoonfuls of finely powdered sugar; omit pepper and salt.

  2. Melt two or four ounces of butter in a well-buttered, plated-edged baking dish.

Cook the omelet

  1. Pour the beaten eggs into the dish and cook until the edges begin to set.

  2. Flip the omelet over, heap it up in the middle, and slide it off onto a well-buttered, plated-edged baking dish.

Bake and serve

  1. Place the dish in the oven for about a quarter of an hour to let it rise.

  2. Shake powdered sugar over the top and serve immediately.

  3. For the jam version, add a couple tablespoonfuls of jam on the omelet before flipping, then turn the half over the jam.

  4. Bake the jam-topped omelet in the oven for 1–2 minutes to warm the jam.

  5. If using four ounces of butter, place jam on the side of the omelet and let the thin part cover it.

  6. Add preserved pineapple slices or orange marmalade to the omelet before baking, if desired.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

297Calories
8 gProtein
17 gFat
30 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Orange1 medium (131g)62
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Payne, A. G. (Arthur Gay), 1840-1894. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Orange + peppertop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,402 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  2. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  3. Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Sugar + orangetop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together19,212 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Sugar and orange barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 19,212 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Heat sets the proteins, giving the omelet its structure and helping it rise.
Butter
Adds richness and fat, and helps the omelet brown and release from the dish.
Powdered sugar
Adds sweetness and dissolves quickly into the beaten eggs.
Orange marmalade
Adds sweetness and fruity acidity that contrasts with the rich eggs.

The step that matters

Cooking until the edges just set before flipping. Eggs turn firm and rubbery when overcooked, so the omelet should be removed from the heat while the centre is still slightly soft, then finished gently.

Swap the orange

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, pepper):

  1. Lemonfits better
  2. Figfits better
  3. Vanillafits better
  4. Orangethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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