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Simple Omelet
There is a difference of opinion among cooks as to the beating of the eggs for omelets, many holding that the yolks and whites should be whipped separately, and others that it makes no difference, but that twelve strokes given to yolks and whites together is all sufficient. Use three eggs; if double the quantity is required make in separate omelet pans. Four tablespoons of milk may be added for three eggs. Many people also prefer the addition of a teaspoon of flour. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the eggs before beating them and have the pan heating, placing in it a tablespoon of butter. When the latter is "sizzling” pour in the omelet and let set. When browned turn one side over on the other then toss onto the serving platter.
A plain French-style folded omelet, written when nearly every cook had an opinion about how eggs should be beaten. The recipe assumes skills it does not spell out, so a few points are worth making explicit.
- The hinge: one pan, three eggsThe instruction to make a second omelet in a separate pan rather than doubling the eggs is the most important line here. Three eggs spread thin in a small pan set quickly; six in the same pan sit deeper and are more likely to cook unevenly. The recipe itself does not name a pan size.
- BeatingThe book leaves the argument open, and it can stay open. Whites beaten separately give a puffed, souffle-like omelet; twelve strokes of a fork through whole eggs gives the dense, tender French style that the folding-and-tossing method here actually suits.
- The flourA teaspoon of flour for three eggs was one recommended guard against weeping and tearing, and the recipe notes only that many people prefer it. If you use it, whisk it into the milk first or it may show up as lumps; it is usually omitted today.
- Salt before beatingSalting the eggs before whisking, as directed, is often said to give a slightly more tender set, though the effect is small and depends on the salt having some time to work. It does at least distribute the seasoning evenly through the egg.
- "Sizzling" butterThis most likely describes butter that has stopped foaming and smells nutty but has not browned. A tablespoon of butter is generous by modern habit; it is also why the omelet releases cleanly.
- "When browned"Period taste ran to a browned exterior. If you want the pale, barely-set French result instead, pull the pan when the top is still glossy and slightly loose; carryover heat finishes it on the platter.
- YieldThree eggs is one generous serving or two modest ones. The original directs a second pan whenever the quantity is doubled, rather than crowding six eggs into one.
The disagreement the writer records, whites beaten separately or everything together, was a real and long-running one in nineteenth-century kitchens, and it divides two genuinely different dishes, the puffed omelet that Americans often served with fruit or preserves and the plain folded French omelet.