I don't think I would want an omlet browner and fluffy, its not the way there meant to be. Yellow and semi flat, thats an omlet!

The one dish (maybe the only one) that I'm really good at is an omelet. Mine are very fluffy by adding a splash of milk/cream to the beaten eggs, then pushing the edges toward the middle as they cook, and when all the runny stuff in the middle has gone put a cover on the pan for a few moments. When you take the cover off you have a gorgeous puffed-up, fluffy omelet and the underside has a nice brownishness. It's quicker than boiling water for a cup of tea.

We keep talking about omelts, I just may make myself one for lunch today

Sorry to be a killjoy/buzzkill, but that nice brownishness is the result of cross-linked proteins, which are damaged. Your body can repair the damage cross-linked proteins do, but why make your body do it?

Because I'm not into drinking raw eggs. I've tried it, can't get past the texture of it. Apparently, I don't care that much about breaking down the proteins, its a way to get my food down.

Don't understand, please explain cross-linked proteins. Doesn't most everything that's sauted or fried in a pan have brownishness, e.g. bacon, steak, french fries? How can you cook anything without browning it? I'm really curious.

Gosh its been a while, but when you cook food, the proteins go threw a chemical reaction and during this process, the proteins are broken down and thats why the meat actally "changes" while cooking. Like the egg, firms up.

I would imagine Aj_cohn may be able to explain it better.

Okay....I get that food changes when you cook it and I do recall learning somewhere that burnt food can be harmful (a constant problem for me back in the "toast days", LOL). But surely humans have been cooking food over fire ever since we discovered it, and we're still here. So I'd really like to know more about any problems with the brownishness of my lovely omelets.

Hi everyone,

Sorry to go off the scientific deep end. As simply as I can say it, browned food indicates damage to the proteins in the food (cross-linking). Browned toast, for example, indicates that the gluten proteins have been damaged. Browned eggs indicate damage to the protein in the albumen (the white part of the egg). That damage makes it more difficult for the body to incorporate the protein into your body, requiring all sorts of biological repair.

Whofan's right: humans have the biological means to fight the damage cause by cross-linked proteins. But the repair is slow, isn't always complete or perfect, and our body's repair resources are limited. Over time, the damage piles up, especially once humans are past the breeding stage, and nature stops caring for you.

For a more detailed explanation, google "cellular glycation" or "AGEs." The least technical explanation I found about this topic is on about.com, in a discussion about aging.

In regard to avoiding browning omelettes, I use lower heat on the stove and enough fat in the pan to make the eggs "float" on the fat when I pour them in.

I knew I liked my steaks rare for a reason!

I can honestly say, my omlets aren't brown, they are still yellow when I get done, and I do use a good amount of fat. LOL, they do tend to "float" Good way to put it.

Nature doesn't take care of us after were out of child bearing age. Damb, so true and just not right.

I don't like burnt eggs. yuk. No offense but if an omelet comes out brown as far as I'm concerned it's ruined and if at a restaurant I won't get an omelet there again.

I don't think I've ever had one brown at a restaurant. BF gets a little pissy if I get his eggs a little brown, I like them in bacon grease and it turns them a little darker. He wants them in veggie oil, they are still light colored from the veggie oil, and yukky!

We don't eat out to often and never in the mornings so I wouldn't get to many omlets at a restaurant, everyone should offer breakfast all day

That's exactly what I do. Phew, what a relief! Maybe the word brownishness is confusing. In my mind that's not the same as brown. More like, not brightest yellow? Anyway, thanks for the explanation and the links. Always so much to learn here.

Brace yourself, abbykitty: Some restaurants "cheat" in order to keep their omelets yellow and fluffy by adding pancake batter to the omelets. I always ask this at restaurants, because sometimes they use liquid eggs from a carton and can't answer the question.

The more I learn about the quality of food in restaurants, the more I eat at home.