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Omelet, with Wine

A lightly whisked egg omelet flavored with wine, dusted with powdered and castor sugar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and sherry are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,505 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓

Omelet, with Wine

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the eggs

  1. Whisk the eggs lightly.

  2. Add a pinch of salt.

  3. Whip the mixture to a cream.

Cook the omelet

  1. Melt the butter in a hot omelet pan until boiling.

  2. Pour the egg mixture into the pan.

  3. Let it cook until it stiffens.

Finish and serve

  1. Dust the omelet with powdered sugar.

  2. Fold the omelet quickly.

  3. Place the omelet on a very hot plate.

  4. Sprinkle a little castor sugar over the omelet.

  5. Pour the sherry or Kirsch on top.

  6. Serve immediately.

  7. If using Kirsch, set it alight just before serving.

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.

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 + sherrytop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,505 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  2. Egg + buttertop 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. Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 recipes

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

  5. Sugar + sherrytop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together4,141 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Provide the structure that sets into the body of the omelet when heated.
Butter
Adds fat for richness and helps the omelet cook in the pan without sticking.
Castor sugar
Adds sweetness to the finished omelet.
Powdered sugar
Adds sweetness on the surface of the finished omelet.
Sherry or kirsch
Adds a distinct aroma and flavour to the finished omelet.

The step that matters

Let it cook until it stiffens. Heat sets the egg proteins into a soft structure. Stopping at the point where the surface just stiffens keeps the omelet tender, while overcooking makes it dry and rubbery.

“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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