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Plain French Omelet

A simple French omelette made with eggs, butter, salt, pepper, and optional milk.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Mary Ronald · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓

Plain French Omelet

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the eggs

  1. Clean and smooth the pan; keep a pan dedicated to omelets.

  2. Beat eggs lightly, using 3-4 eggs per omelet, about twelve beats.

  3. Add salt, pepper, butter bits, and optional milk to the beaten eggs.

Cook the omelet

  1. Heat the pan evenly and hot, but not scorching.

  2. Add half teaspoon of butter to the pan, melt evenly without browning.

  3. Pour the egg mixture into the pan.

  4. Use a knife or fork to stir the surface gently, allowing uncooked egg to flow under.

  5. When the top is still soft, lift the pan on one side, slide a knife under, and roll the omelet toward the center.

  6. Cook briefly to set edges; if color is off, add a little butter and let it melt under the omelet.

Serve

  1. Place a hot dish over the pan, flip the omelet onto it, press to shape, folding ends if needed.

  2. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

335Calories
15 gProtein
25 gFat
14 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
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 Mary Ronald. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

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

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  3. Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 recipes

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

  4. Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  5. Pepper + milktop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together26,984 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Set into a soft, tender structure as they cook, forming the body of the omelet.
Butter
Coats the pan so the omelet releases cleanly and adds richness and flavour.
Milk
Adds moisture and softness to the beaten eggs, yielding a more tender omelet.

The step that matters

Keep the heat moderate and stop cooking while the top is still soft. Egg proteins set quickly at high heat, so over-cooking or browning makes the omelet tough and dry. Leaving the top slightly soft lets it finish gently as it is folded and served.

“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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