Omelette

Generality

The omelette is NOT the omelette ... not even if it is stuffed and folded on itself!

The omelette is a dish based on whole fresh eggs, deprived of the shell and beaten, then cooked in a pan or in the oven. It is a fairly common dish, well known to most western and eastern populations; it stands out for its taste and ease of preparation, even if the differences between a good omelette and a "normal" omelette are evident (both on the organoleptic and gustatory level and on the nutritional level).

The omelette, on the other hand, is a rather complex preparation that requires good theoretical-practical preparation; in the center it remains raw, it can be prepared only in a pan and at the end of the process it acquires a characteristic shape.

The omelette can be prepared with any type of unfertilized egg; the most common is with that of hen, but there are omelettes with quail eggs, duck, goose, turkey, guinea fowl and also ostrich. The simple one does not include the addition of other ingredients, apart from the salt (which is not necessary anyway) and a little olive oil or a knob of butter for cooking; in parallel, the omelette can be enriched with numerous ingredients of animal or vegetable origin. Among the enriched omelettes we distinguish: the omelettes that integrate a part of the contour (with vegetables, mushrooms or legumes) and those added in milk and / or derivatives, meat (preserved and not) or fish.

Another feature that can distinguish an omelette is the cooking method; two basic preparation techniques are known: in the pan and in the oven. Comparing them, the difference is quite obvious; the pancake omelette is generally circular, rather thin and is used for the formulation of quick meals; on the contrary, oven cooking is aimed at preparing thick omelettes, which require lower cooking temperatures for a longer period of time.

Practically:

• The cooking in the pan (with a thin bottom) is done in a very hot pan, adding a veil of beaten eggs which, as soon as they thicken, will form a disc to "overturn" (or jump) quickly finishing cooking. NB : If the omelette is cooked too quickly in contact with the pan without thickening sufficiently in the upper part, you can modify your technique in two ways: 1. Cook a smaller quantity of beaten egg at a time, perhaps making 2 pan-fried omelettes with the same compound; 2. Lower the intensity of the fire and use a lid (with the risk that the omelette will swell).
• Cooking in the oven, on the other hand, is carried out in a plate with a high, cold edge, into which a greater quantity of beaten eggs is to be poured (a few centimeters, up to 1/3 or half of the overall height). In this case the omelette will NEVER be turned and cooking must always be well calibrated (tendentially sweet and prolonged). NB : If the omelette in the oven does NOT cook sufficiently at the heart of the food (and above or below it is also too colored), it is likely that you have exceeded with the temperature; in a second attempt, it could be useful to cover the plate completely with aluminum foil. The temperature at the time of introduction can be variable. If you are planning a thin omelette, it is likely that the preparation will still be successful with the oven hot and with high cooking temperatures; on the contrary, if you want to get a thick omelette, I strongly suggest to bake in cold and set no more than 180 ° C.

The consistency of the omelette is moreover influenced by some variables in its preparation. To obtain a thin omelette, it is always necessary: ​​beat the eggs a little, DO NOT use the lid when cooking, use high temperatures and DO NOT add milk to the mixture. On the contrary, to obtain a softer omelette it is advisable to whisk the eggs for a long time (almost to whip them), cover the pan or the baking tray, use temperatures just sufficient for cooking and integrate the mixture with whole milk, to an extent of about 1/3 of the quantity of beaten eggs (even if this further prolongs the cooking).

The less caloric omelettes are prepared without the addition of other ingredients or, possibly, supplementing the beaten eggs only with vegetables or mushrooms (raw or already cooked). These are widespread recipes: omelette with stewed onion, omelette with sautéed mushrooms, omelette with asparagus, omelette with tomato, omelette with courgettes, omelette with peppers, omelette with broad beans or peas or with beans, etc. The most energetic omelettes instead, almost always contain: grated mature cheese, hard cheeses cut into cubes, preserved and browned meats (crumbled sausage, diced bacon, cured meat cuts, frankfurters etc.), cooked seafood, etc. It is not rare that a simple omelette can be integrated at the end of cooking, directly on the plate with sliced ​​salami (ham and cooked ham, mortadella, coppa, fresh cheeses, slices etc.). Some like to season simple omelette with lemon juice.

Furious omelette with egg whites a Neve

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Recipe for a simple, thin, pan-fried omelette :

Ingredients: 2 medium chicken eggs, 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil (5g), salt and pepper QB, a slice of lemon.

Tools: a high-edge container for whipping eggs, a fork to beat eggs, an anti-adherent pan, a spatula.

Method:

1. break the eggs in the container at high edge without leaving shell residues; salt and pepper to taste;
2. beat the eggs with the fork WITHOUT achieving the complete homogeneity of the mixture (a slight separation between egg white and yolk is still to be seen);
3. heat the greased pan over an open flame; without the oil burning, pour the mixture of beaten eggs, salt and pepper in the pan, halve the flame and wait for it to clot on the surface (the omelette in the pan should NEVER be presented with too obvious browning!); DO NOT TOUCH THE COMPOUND except at the edges, with the help of a spatula, to separate them from the pan;
4. skip or spin the disc; cook for another 30 '' and serve (to taste) with a splash of lemon juice.

Nutritional composition per 100 grams of edible portion of the egg, hen, whole:

Nutritional values ​​(per 100 g of edible portion)

Edible part 87, 0g water 77, 1g Protein 12, 4g Lipids TOT 8, 7g Saturated fatty acids 3, 17g Monounsaturated fatty acids 2, 58g Polyunsaturated fatty acids 1, 26g Cholesterol 371, 0mg TOT Carbohydrates tr Starch 0.0g Soluble sugars tr Dietary fiber 0.0g Power 128, 0kcal Sodium 137, 0mg Potassium 133, 0mg Iron 1.5mg Football 48, 0mg Phosphorus 210, 0mg Thiamine 0, 09mg Riboflavin 0, 30mg Niacin 0, 10mg Vitamin A 225, 0μg C vitamin 0, 0mg Vitamin E - mg

NB : some (especially for dietary reasons) like to consume omelettes composed only of egg whites, but it is a totally different food and that requires a wide description to be placed in a separate article.

Nutritional characteristics

The omelette is NOT a preparation with some of the most digestible eggs; it is well cooked, which is why the protein structure, after an initial denaturation, tends to restore the skein of the tertiary (hence quaternary) structure. Furthermore, inexperienced cooks tend to prolong the heat treatment to ensure a sufficient level of cooking; nothing more incorrect.

As anticipated, the omelette (especially the pan-fried one) NEVER has to present areas of excessive browning; this is justifiable for two reasons:

1. the golden area is an indicator of negative molecular alterations of nutrients;

2. the golden area is excessive or excessively intense cooking indicator.

The result of excessive cooking is a less digestible food, poorer in nutrients and rich in potentially harmful substances.

A final recommendation concerns the quantities of fat used for cooking: I remind readers that, with good instrumentation and a little practice, it would be sufficient to dirty the frying pan with "very thin" oil (obviously before heating it) and, with the omelette already well coagulated cooking, make it jump without even touching it.

The average digestibility of an omelette of two eggs is about 180 ', although I personally believe that a simple and well done preparation can also earn up to almost 30% of the indicated time.

The nutritional intake of the omelette is the same as the raw egg (with a few grams of extra lipids deriving from the oil or butter for the pan) ... except for some modifications linked to the heat treatment that affect thermolabile vitamins (such as, for example, thiamine - vit. B1), vitamin H (which acquires bioavailability) and the structure of proteins. The average portion of omelette fluctuates between 100 and 150g, to be consumed NOT more than once or twice a week (due to the high intake of cholesterol in the yolk). Of course, nutritional values ​​can be altered by adding other ingredients to the basic recipe; for example, cheeses and cured meats significantly increase the lipid and energy supply of the omelette, while the addition of vegetables increases the fiber intake, making the food more digestible and satiating.