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      Dash pepper

   1 teaspoon butter

Beat together eggs, water, salt and pepper until blended. In 7- to 10-inch omelet pan or skillet over medium-high heat, heat butter until just hot enough to sizzle a drop of water. pour in egg mixture. (Mixture should set immediately at edges.) With an inverted pancake turner, carefully push cooked portions at edges toward center so uncooked portions can reach hot pan surface, tilting pan and moving cooked portions as necessary. When top is thickened and no visible liquid egg remains, fill, if desired. With pancake turner, fold omelet in half or roll. Invert onto plate with a quick flip of the wrist or slide from pan onto plate.

Basic French (Plain) Microwave Omelet

1 serving

The secret of a tender, easily rolled microwave French omelet is a tight-fitting cover. No stirring is needed since trapped steam helps to cook the omelet evenly.

   1 teaspoon butter

   2 eggs

   2 tablespoons water

1/8 teaspoon salt

      Dash pepper

In a 9-inch pie plate, cook butter on full power until melted, about 45 seconds. Spread to coat bottom of plate. Beat together remaining ingredients until blended. Pour into plate. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Cook on full power about 2 to 3 minutes, rotating ¼ turn each 30 seconds. Do not stir. When top is thickened and no visible liquid egg remains, fill, if desired. With pancake turner, fold omelet in half or roll and slide from pie plate onto serving plate.

Note: All microwave cooking times are based on a full power output of about 600 to 700 watts. For a lower wattage oven, allow more time.

Basic Puffy (Soufflé) Omelet

2 servings

To preserve the puff, fold the soufflé omelet   over its filling or serve it open-faced with the filling on top as soon as you remove it from the oven. Substitute a pinch of sugar for the salt if you filling is sweet.

    4 eggs, separated

1/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar or lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

    1 teaspoon butter

In large mixing bowl, beat egg whites with water and cream of tartar at high speed until stiff but not dry, just until whites no longer slip when bowl is tilted. In small mixing bowl, beat egg yolks with salt at high speed until thick and lemon-colored. Gently, but thoroughly, fold yolks into whites.

In 10-inch omelet pan or skillet with ovenproof handle* over medium-high heat, heat butter until just hot enough to sizzle a drop of water. Pour in egg mixture and gently smooth surface. Reduce heat to medium. Cook until puffed and lightly browned on bottom, about 5 minutes. (Lift omelet at edge to judge color.) Bake in preheated 350ºF. oven until knife inserted halfway between center and outer edge comes out clean, about 10 to 12 minutes. Loosen omelet edges with spatula.

To Serve Folded: With sharp knife, cut upper surface down center of omelet but DO NOT cut through to bottom of omelet. Fill, if desired. Tip skillet. With pancake turner, fold omelet in half and invert onto warmed plate or platter with a quick flip of the wrist.

To Serve Open-Faced: Invert pan over warmed plate or platter, or slide omelet from pan onto plate. Spoon or sprinkle filling, if desired, over top.

Cut in half or into wedges. Serve immediately.

*To make handle ovenproof, wrap completely with aluminum foil.

OILING A thin film of odorless, tasteless mineral oil sprayed on eggs before cartoning. The oil replaces the natural bloom, the protective coating on the outside of the egg, which is removed during washing.

OMELET Beaten eggs cooked in a pan and rolled or folded. The ancient Romans supposedly made the first omelet and, because it was sweetened with honey, they called it ovemele (eggs and honey). Some insist this was the origin of the word omelet. Others maintain the word was derived from amelette (Fr.) meaning blade, describing the long flat shape of an omelet. Whatever its origin, an omelet can hold or be topped with any food from caviar to leftover meatloaf. The list of filling and topping possibilities is endless, limited only by your imagination and the contents of your refrigerator. Omelets take different forms depending on how you cook them. Quick and easy (about a minute or two) on top of the range gives you the French or plain omelet. (Using the microwave adds the convenience of no-stir cooking.) Separately beat the egg yolks and whites and finish the omelet in an oven and you have a puffy or soufflé omelet. Although you may have heard that omelets requite special pans and Cordon Bleu skills, it just isn't so. Omelets are easy to make. Omelets cook so quickly that the filling should be selected and prepared before starting the eggs. ~see Frittata, Omelet Fillings Recipes Basic French (Plain) Omelet (1 serving) Multiply the recipe by as many servings as you need and use ½ cup of the egg mixture for each omelet. For a sweet dissert omelet, substitute a pinch of sugar for the salt and pepper.    2 eggs    2 tablespoons water 1/8 teaspoon salt

OMELET FILLINGS Almost any food can fill an omelet. To invent your own filling, use 1 or more filling ingredients to total about 1/3 to 1/2 cup for each omelet. Flavor the omelet, filling or both with about 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of your favorite herb or spice or a seasoning blend from a salad dressing, soup or other flavoring mix. Fill an omelet right after you've finished cooking it. At this point, the omelet will be hot enough to melt cheese and warm some filing ingredients such as yogurt, peanut butter, jelly or diced or sliced fruit. Heat refrigerator-cold  fillings to serving temperature or fully cook raw foods before you begin cooking the omelet.

OMELET KING Howard Helmer, Senior National Representative for the American Egg Board and holder of the Guinness World Record for omelet making—427 in 30 minutes! Howard spreads the good word of the good egg to consumers across the country through appearances on radio and television and through newspapers and magazines.

ORGANIC EGGS Eggs from hens fed rations having ingredients that were grown without pesticides, fungicides, herbicides or commercial fertilizers. No commercial laying hen rations ever contain hormones. Due to higher production costs and lower volume per farm, organic eggs are more expensive than eggs from hens fed conventional feed. The nutrient content of eggs is not affected by whether or not the ration is organic.

OTHER USES   Cosmetic Egg white has long been used as a facial. Egg yolk is used in shampoos and conditioners. Animal Feed Both shells and interiors of eggs are used. Experimental Uses Egg white is used as a protein reference in feeding laboratory animals. Egg yolk and egg products are used in laboratories as a medium for the growth of microorganisms. Medical and Pharmaceutical Fertile eggs are used to manufacture many vaccines, as a source of purified proteins and as an aid in the preservation of bull semen for artificial insemination.

OVARY The hen's reproductive organ in which egg yolks develop. ~see Formation

OVIDUCT The organ in the hen which accepts the yolk after ovulation, where the egg is completed. ~see Formation

OVIPOSITION Laying of the hen's egg. ~see Formation

OVULATION Release of the egg yolk from the hen's ovary. ~See Formation

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