Omelette sticking

What is causing it

• Not enough fat. An omelette needs more butter than feels reasonable. A thin smear is not enough.
• The pan was not hot enough when the egg went in. Egg poured into a warm pan seeps into the surface before it sets.
• The wrong pan. Stainless steel and a thin base both make this much harder. A well-seasoned carbon steel or a good non-stick is the right tool.
• A scratched or worn non-stick. The coating wears out gradually and nobody notices when.
• Moved too soon. The underside needs a few seconds to set before anything is disturbed.
• A dirty pan. Residue from whatever was cooked before gives the egg something to grip.
• Too large a pan for the eggs, so the layer is thin and sets to the metal before it can be moved.

Making one that releases

1. Choose a pan that suits the number of eggs — roughly a 20cm pan for two or three eggs, 24cm for four.
2. Beat the eggs thoroughly with a fork and season them now.
3. Heat the pan over a medium heat, then add a generous knob of butter. It should foam and just stop foaming — that is the moment.
4. Pour the eggs in and leave them for five to ten seconds so the base sets.
5. Then agitate: shake the pan and stir with the flat of a fork or a spatula, pulling set egg from the edges into the middle and letting the liquid run into the gaps.
6. Stop while the surface is still glossy and slightly wet. It will finish as you fold it.
7. Tilt the pan away from you, fold the far third over, and roll the omelette out onto the plate seam side down.

By style

French

Small soft curds, pale, no colour, rolled. The most demanding and the most dependent on a good pan and enough butter.

English or diner style

Set flat, folded in half, lightly coloured. More forgiving.

Frittata or tortilla

Cooked slowly and finished under a grill or flipped. Different technique entirely and far less prone to sticking.

Omelette pan

A dedicated shallow-sided pan makes rolling much easier. Not essential.

Butter or oil

Butter for flavour and for the visual cue when it stops foaming. Oil works and gives no cue.

If it has stuck

• Take the pan off the heat for twenty seconds. Contraction as it cools often releases the egg.
• Slide a thin spatula flat along the base, rather than levering from above.
• If it tears, stop folding. Serve it flat, or break it up into a scramble and nobody will mind.
• Turn it into a frittata by adding a little more egg, cooking it through and finishing it under a grill.
• Clean the pan properly before the next one. Burnt-on egg guarantees a repeat.

Common questions