Omelette

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An omelette

Ham, cheese, and vegetable omelette served with fresh fruit.

Omelette with tomatoes

Omelette flavored with sorrel

An omelette or omelet is a preparation of beaten egg cooked with butter or oil in a frying pan, usually folded around a filling such as cheese. Gourmet cook Julia Child famously described an omelette as soft-cooked scrambled eggs wrapped in an envelope of firmly-cooked scrambled eggs. Many variations exist.

Spanish tortilla de patatas (European Spanish for "potato omelette") is a characteristic thick omelette stuffed with fried potatoes and fine cut onion, and fried using olive oil. See also tortilla. In Britain this is called a Spanish omelette, and may include cheese or cooked diced ham.

The French Omelette is briskly fried in a very, very hot pan specially made for the purpose. The technique relies on clarified butter (to ensure a high smoke point) in relatively great ratio to the eggs (prevents sticking and cooks the eggs more quickly). Good with just salt and pepper, this omelette is often flavored with tomatoes and mint, finely chopped herbs (often tarragon, chervil, rosemary and thyme) or chopped onions.

A Western omelette, also known as a Denver omelette, is an omelette filled with diced ham, onions, and green bell peppers. Often served in the midwestern United States and sometimes has a topping of cheese and a sidedish of hashbrowns or fried potatoes.

In the United States, a Spanish omelette is an omelette served with an often spicy sauce of tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers.

Frittata is a kind of open-faced Italian omelette that can contain cheese, vegetables, or even leftover pasta. Frittate are cooked slowly. Most often, they are cooked on the stovetop on low heat until the eggs are set, then finished in the oven with the broil/grill or bake features. Except for the cooking fat, all ingredients are fully mixed with the eggs before cooking starts.

In Japan, omelette (pronounced omuretsu) can mean a western omelette but also omuraisu (from the English words "omelette" and "rice"). It is a fried ketchup-flavored rice sandwiched with a thinly spread beaten egg or covered with a plain egg omelette. Omu-soba is an omelette with yakisoba as its filling. This is also known in Tokyo as the "Gunshot Omlette." Okonomiyaki is a Japanese pancake which is often compared to an omelette.

A Chinese omelette can be an oyster omelette.

A Thai omelette can be a kai yat sai.

In India an omelette is usually made with the addition of spices which vary by region. Most commonly used are finely chopped green chillies, chopped onions, coriander leaf and powder and a pinch of turmeric all of which are added to the egg before it is whisked.