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Omelet, Plain

A simple omelet made with eggs, milk, butter, salt, and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and butter 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 ↓

Omelet, Plain

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the egg mixture

  1. Beat the eggs until the yolks and whites are well mixed.

  2. Add the milk, salt, and pepper to the egg mixture.

Cook and serve

  1. Melt the butter in an omelet pan and remove any scum that rises.

  2. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and stir with a fork until the eggs begin to set.

  3. Fold the sides towards the middle to form an oblong shape or draw the mixture towards the handle to create a half‑moon shape.

  4. Turn the omelet onto a hot dish and serve immediately.

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. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

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

  2. Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  3. Egg + milktop 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. Milk + peppertop 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
Provide the protein structure that sets into the body of the omelet.
Butter
Coats the pan to prevent sticking and adds richness and flavor to the omelet.
Milk
Adds moisture that keeps the omelet tender as the eggs set.

The step that matters

Stirring until the eggs begin to set. Stirring while the eggs are still liquid forms small curds that keep the omelet tender. Stop once the eggs begin to set, then fold, so the omelet does not become dry or tough from overcooking.

“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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