Comments on: I Still Can’t Flip An Omelet – Day 86: Eating Well On $1 A Day

By: WilliamB

WilliamB — Mon, 16 May 2011 00:50:20 +0000

Coming way late to the game again:

In my opinion, omlets don’t need to be flipped or, if one is very picky about definitions, one needn’t make an omlet. Make scrambled eggs with stuff, or a frittata, or a tasty mess. It’s all good.

I hope you saved the bacon grease each time you cooked the bacon. Using the extra for dishes such as this night’s dinner makes them more bacony. (Less healthy, too, if that’s something you’re concerned about.)

By: Aster

Aster — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:10:36 +0000

When my daughter was a baby/toddler, I was warned to make sure her eggs were very well cooked through to minimize the chance of food poisoning. I used a very small skillet to make her one-egg cheese omelets. But since I couldn’t flip them worth a flip I would place a plate upside down over the pan and flip them over together, so that the omelet fell onto the plate. I’d then return the pan to the burner, gently slide the half-cooked omelet runny-side-down into the pan, top with cheese, and cook until the cheese was fully melted, by which time the runny side was fully cooked. I have done this since with larger omelets/skillets, which took a couple of tries to perfect. But as several people mentioned, I usually just make “scrambled eggs with stuff.”

BTW, I found my way to your excellent blog today because I made my first omelet (or is that frittata?) in a rice cooker today and I’m googling around looking for refinements. It was delicious, but next time I’ll wait and add the cheese after the eggs are fully cooked instead of with the eggs as the recipe I followed suggested. Since it was white cheese, it made it hard to tell when the eggs were cooked.

By: Kye Sangha

Kye Sangha — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:58:22 +0000

Speaking as a former chef, omelets are not easy. Most people, even many cooks, cannot produce a true
French omelet.
And the flip? As a junior cook you start with dry toast, move on to dry beans, then to pasta…then to? Certainly NOT eggs, not yet. It takes years.

By: Cathy in NH

Cathy in NH — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 19:58:50 +0000

When I make omelets, I use a non-stick pan and a rubber spatula (the kind you use for scraping out bowls when making cookies). There is NO FLIPPING INVOLVED! Melt a little butter in the pan over low-medium heat. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and give it a few minutes until you’ve got a solid-ish base to the egg “pancake”. Gently lift one side of the omelet maybe an inch off the pan and tilt the pan to that side. All of the runny egg will run down onto the pan and when you put the omelet back down it will cook and become the bottom of the omelet. Sprinkle your cheese and toppings on top, wait for the egg to cook through, fold and slide out of the pan onto a plate. Voila!

By: Patricia

Patricia — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 01:12:26 +0000

I forgot to put that in step #2 you add your chosen seasonings. Salt and pepper would do nice here. You can also add some chili powder or herbs.

By: Patricia

Patricia — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:26:00 +0000

I fourth (!) the fritatta suggestion. If you are having so much trouble with flipping omelettes and you’re still worrying about it, I suggest you try a rice-cooker fritatta (as opposed to an oven fritatta). It’s easy, and the only labor you have to do is chopping and pre-frying your chosen veggies.

Here’s a quick summary of the steps:
1. Chop your veggies to either matchstick-size or thin circles to make fry-cooking them fast and easy. (I use julienned carrots, potatoes, and squash, and thinly sliced zucchini.)
2. Fry your chopped veggies with a little oil or butter for around 5 minutes, constantly stirring.
3. Wipe the inside your rice cooker pan with a thin layer of oil, to 2 inches up the sides.
4. Lightly beat 6 eggs inside the rice cooker pan.
5. Pour the fried veggies into the rice cooker pan and distribute evenly.
6. Set rice cooker to cook for a regular rice cycle.
7. Flip on a plate and enjoy! I like mine with ketchup.

Here’s my source: http://justbento.com/handbook/recipe-collection-mains/rice-cooker-frittata-summer-vegetables

By: roxie

roxie — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:56:28 +0000

Hey, my omelets always look messy when I try to turn them too. Its ok though, they still taste good.

I am assuming your sister was referring to cooking in plastic bags in a microwave as being toxic?? If that was the issue, I would have to agree with her on that one. I think she likes to make things rough on her brother as any “good” sister might, but it seems to me she might actually want the best for you in this case.

By: Emily Lauren

Emily Lauren — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:26:13 +0000

My best suggestion for you:
f%&#@ the omelette… just work on making a ‘scramble.’

Here’s what you do:
1. some oil or spray in a hot pan
2. add veggies and any meat you want browned
3. add some eggs and stir it up a bit (you don’t even have to pre-wisk them!)
4. Add cheese on top.

TA DA!! No problem with flipping and it’s much more casual.

Yum

(If you are using raw bacon, sausage, etc… cook *that* up in the first step, then take out of your pan and use a bit of grease to cook the veggies)

By: rob62521

rob62521 — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:58:56 +0000

Years ago there used to be a hinged pan that you put the mixture in one side and then you were ready to “flip” you closed the two halves together and transfered the omelet to the other side and cooked it. Never had one, but they always intrigued me…I wondered if they really worked.

I wouldn’t let the lack of flipping expertise worry me…if it was scrumptious, you aren’t taking photos for a cook book!

By: Sam

Sam — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:26:34 +0000

I third (?) the frittata suggestion …. just don’t do it in a non-stick pan. Teflon releases nastiness at high heats that can happen in an oven. Be wary of the handle on the pan too. You don’t want anything melting in the oven.

Consider DVRing Good Eats on the Food Network (especially if you see one of his egg episodes coming up), or at least looking up videos online. Alton Brown is a) funny, b) sciency, c) extremely good at breaking down the how and why. My son got really into him when he was 10, and following Alton’s instruction has become a passable cook (he’s 13 now, and not too shabby in the kitchen).