Omelette

In Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia Child writes that ‘a good French Omelette is a smooth, gently swelling, golden oval that is tender and creamy in side.’ She then goes on for a few pages, explaining extensive techniques. The Ministry of Food had their own ideas and suggest the following: Beat two reconstituted eggs with salt and pepper, melt some butter in a pan, pour in the egg and work it with a fork. Fold and serve immediately. I like a nice omelette and used to eat a lot of them, however cooking with reconstituted eggs throws out all normal rules of cooking.

Firstly, they do not react the same as shell eggs. They cement and stick to the bottom of the pan. I do not use a fork in omelette making and didn’t here as they are so granular that they would scramble instantly. I persisted while they bubbled away and attempted to gradually fold over, they would not. I had to use a spatula to prize the omelette (pancake) away from the bottom of the pan. There was no way this was going to be tender and creamy in side. Once I had managed to transfer this to a plate it did almost resemble an omelette, but did taste of the dreaded egg flavour again. My ration leaflet on eggs also recommends a Spanish Omelette, which suggest browning some vegetables in a pan and adding two reconstituted eggs until it sets into the shape of a Spanish Omelette.