I’m always looking for looking for nice breakfast foods, so decided to try a hundred-year-old recipe for Jelly Omelet. For the omelet, the eggs are separated and the whiten beaten, which results in a light and fluffy omelet. I’ve seen many recipes in old cookbooks that call for beating the egg whites when making an omelet, and I’ve previously made several of them – and they always turn out wonderfully. By comparison modern omelets seem heavy. Modern recipes seldom call for beating egg whites. I can’t figure out why the older method of making omelets seems to have largely been lost over time.
To make a Jelly Omelet, the cooked eggs are spread with jelly prior to folding to make the omelet. I used currant jelly – though other jams, jellies, or marmalades could be used. The sweet tartness of the currant jelly was a nice complement to the eggs.
This recipe is a keeper, and I anticipate that I’ll make it again. I have lots of jellies that I made last summer, and this is a tasty way to use some of the jelly.
Here is the original recipe:
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Jelly Omelet
4 eggs, separated
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoons hot water
1tablespoon butter, melted
jam, jelly, or marmalade
additional sugar to sprinkle on top of omelet (optional)
Preheat oven to 375° F. Place egg whites in a bowl, and beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Set aside.
In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks, then stir in the salt, sugar, hot water, and melted butter. Fold in the beaten egg whites.
Heat a large oven-proof skillet (or use an omelet pan) on the top of the stove using medium-low heat. (If needed to prevent sticking, liberally grease the skillet before heating.) Pour the egg mixture into skillet, and gently cook for 1 minute. Turn the pan 90° to help ensure that the omelet cooks evenly, and gently cook for another minute. Then move the skillet to the oven, and bake for about 8 – 10 minutes or until the egg mixture is set. Remove from oven, and loosen the edges of the omelet from the skillet with a knife or spatula, then turn onto a plate. Thickly spread jam, jelly, or marmalade onto one half of the omelet, and then fold in half. If desired, sprinkle sugar on top of the omelet. Serve immediately.
A Hundred Years Ago 
I’m definitely going to try this. I think anytime a step is eliminated from a recipe it is due to convenience. Trying to save a minute or two in the morning.
Yes, I think you’re right. Not beating the egg whites definitely would streamline the recipe. With some shortcuts, I can’t see any difference in the finished product (for example, if I skip shifting flour) – but in this case there definitely is a difference in texture. An omelet made with the beaten egg whites is lighter.
I tried this technique this week and I was amazed at how HUGE the omelet was. I needed to tweak the cooking time and heat. Delicious!
It nice to hear that you enjoyed the omelet. It’s helpful to know that you tweaked the cooking time and heat.
We were taught to beat the egg whites separately in Home Ec. when making an omelet. My mother never did that step and thought it should be reserved for “fancy” occasions. This looks very tasty – I’ll have to give it a try!
Thanks for sharing the memories. Now that you mention it, this omelet does seems fancier because the texture is lighter than the typical omelet.
Haha! I always forget that your name for what we call jam is jelly, so you can imagine what I thought this omelette would be like, wibble-wobbling with gelatine! But yes, it definitely sounds worth a shot – with lashings of jam, of course!
Another example of a word that has a different meaning on each side of the Atlantic. Your description of your first thoughts when seeing this recipe – “wibble-wobbling with gelatin” are so vivid – and made me thankful that “jelly” refers to a different food here.
!!
Jam and jelly are used interchangeably by some people in the U.S., but in our household, jelly is more like gelatin and less like fruit, and jam is more like pureed fruit. Aside from that, I wish this recipe had included the recipe for the Thin White Sauce.
I guess it’s regular white sauce with extra milk?
Hazel brought me here too. I have the 1935 Boston School of Cooking Cook Book, which had belonged to my husband’s mother and grandmother. It has the Jelly Omelet recipe, which in turn refers to the Puffy Omelet. The Puffy Omelet recipe then refers to the White Sauce I recipe on another page. The White Sauce I recipe says it is “for soups”. It is thin, and there are other thicker white sauce recipes (with more butter and flour) for other uses. White Sauce I: 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon flour, 1 cup milk, 1/4 teaspoon salt, few grains pepper. Melt butter, add flour mixed with seasonings, stir until well blended. Pour on milk gradually, while stirring constantly. Bring to boiling point. Boil 2 minutes.
There have been so many editions of the Boston Cooking School Cook Book across the years. It’s fascinating that the Jelly Omelet recipe in the 1921 edition refers readers to the Plain Omelet recipe, but the 1935 edition refers them to the Puffy Omelet recipe – as well as to a white sauce recipe. (My head is starting to spin from all the referals.) It almost makes me want to try both versions to see which I prefer.
The Puffy Omelet in the 1925 edition is exactly the same as the Plain Omelet in your 1921 edition. At some point in the middle, I guess they got tired of separating the eggs.
Thanks for researching. This is really interesting. It’s fascinating that they changed the process during one of the years in the middle. I can almost picture a group of home economists at the cooking school having a huge discussion about whether or not to make this change.
I enjoyed seeing this 100-year-old recipe, Sheryl. Very interesting that the egg whites and egg yolks were done separately in these old-fashioned omelets.
I also find it fascinating since the old-recipes makes very nice light omelets – though I suppose people prefer the modern recipe because it is quicker to make.
Occasionally, my mom would make a sweet soufflé omelet, pretty much this technique, and fill it with strawberries and cream! So good!
mmm. . . the souffle omelet sounds wonderful. Just reading your description makes me hungry.
We’ve always separated the eggs when making an omelet.
I think that your family used the more traditional method for making omelets.
I’ve never heard of Jelly omelettes before.
The Jelly Omelet was tasty.
I had never either, but it makes me want to try one! After I get finished with my keto diet and lose 10 more pounds!
I guess the extra step might be worth it. I will have to try this method.
You should give it a try. I think that you will like the resulting omelet.
Now to remember!
I’d never even heard of a jelly omelette until we were watching an old episode of Hazel where she was making them for the family. I guess now I have to try it!
I’d also never heard of a jelly omelet until I saw the recipe in the old cookbook. It’s fun to hear that it was mentioned in an old episode of Hazel. It must have been a more popular food in the past than it is now. The jelly omelet was very tasty; not sure why people don’t seem to make it much anymore.
I’m watching that episode now! That’s why I looked this up.
That Hazel episode is playing again and is why I looked it up too.
i have never heard of this until an old episode of Hazel popped up on tv. Is this regional? Jelly and omelettes are kept separate on my plate and probably still will be.
Anyone know what a ‘chopped olive sandwich is? Betty …on Father Knows Best…. begrudgingly asked for one when pressed to make an order in a restaurant. As if it was common fare. Never heard of it except of muffuletta.
I’ll have to see if I come across any chopped olive sandwich recipes in my hundred-year-old cookbooks.
I’m glad I decided to look up the origin of jelly omelets while watching “An Example for Hazel” again for the umpteenth time, because I found your wonderful blog!
Aside from Hazel, I remember one of the very first things I ever cooked was a jelly omelets after finding a recipe for it in a Brownie publication. This was in the late 60’s or early 70’s, so I was probably 6 or 7 at the time. It sounded terrible to me, but I wanted to learn to cook. I tried one bite of the omelette with grape jelly, but it was definitely not my cup of tea. But I love the tip about whipping the egg whites separately to give more rise to the omelette. Incidentally, I recently learned that you can keep scrambled eggs fluffy and tender (and probably omelets too) by adding a small slurry of corn starch and water: 1 teaspoon cornstarch to 1 tablespoon water per 2 eggs. The slurry helps to prevent proteins from linking and helps to bind in moisture. What I’ve found is that even if you overcook the eggs, the slurry keeps them from becoming hard, rubbery, and/or dry.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to exploring all the other fascinating and delicious recipes on your blog!
It’s fun to hear how this post brought back memories of making a Jelly Omelet from a Brownie publication. Thanks for the tip about adding a little cornstarch. I’ll have to give it a try.