This is the most usual mode of dressing eggs, after that of boiling them in the shell.

Four eggs will make a very pretty sized omelet, but the number must of course depend on the size required. If sweet herbs be put in, a good deal of parsley should form part; tarragon gives a high flavor, and chives or shalots are not unfrequently used, but care should be taken that the flavor should not overpower that of the other ingredients.

Omelets are judiciously varied by mixing grated ham or tongue with minced anchovies, when served at supper or as a side-dish at dinner; but when in tended for the breakfast-table, it is more delicate to make them of eggs alone.

Although a common frying-pan may be used, yet one made on purpose, not larger than the size of a dessert-plate, should be employed, so as not to allow the omelet too much spreading, for it should always be kept of a certain degree of thickness to secure the softness of the inside. It is therefore only to be fried on one side, and when the under is browned and the upper brought to a moderate state of consistence, the fried side is to be folded over the other in three.

Butter is better than either lard or dripping for the frying of an omelet. Any sort of pot-herbs is admissible; and many sorts of minced fowl and fish are prepared in that manner. There are hundreds of receipts for omelets, but the principle is the same in all, the difference being only in the flavoring.