Frittata vs. Omelet - What's your opinion?

Question

I posted a thread on "scrambled eggs vs omelet" and proclaimed a severe dislike for omelets. However, now that they for some reason have grown on me and I rarely make scrambled eggs I've thoughout about branching out in egg world. Similar to my bold declaration, that I hate omelets which apparently turned out to be false as most bold declarations are wont to do, I don't think I've met a frittata that I enjoy. Do you have a preference for omelet or frittata or choose one or the other at a particular time for any particular reason? Could a frittata be considered an open faced omelet?

Answer

I make overly packed frittatas when I am feeding a crowd and omelettes to order.

Answer

Frittatas were company food in my family, very hearty and elegant at the same time, esp ones made with the prized asparagus around Easter time. For us, it was more of a thick, crustless quiche with the ingredients fully incorporated, so not so much an open faced omelet.

Omelets are an "any time" food for me.

Answer

I like them both equally. Sometimes I'm in the mood for one; sometimes the other.

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I like frittatas. I make them in muffin pans for single servings and eat them for breakfast throughout the week. They freeze ok. 

I like the almost "breadlike" texture that they have. I like that they can seem decadent while still being fairly healthy. 

While I think eggs are disgusting cold as a general rule, frittatas - like quiches - are excepted from this rule. But they can be so much healthier than your average quiche!

Answer

No significant preference...I would classify it as do I want a T-bone or Porterhouse steak? Both are fine cuts of meat, but it's just what am I in the mood for at that particular time. Additionally, one consideration for omelet/frittata is...what ingredients do I have to work with? When I make a frittata, usually start with a base of thin sliced potatoes and onions, get them set and browned, then pour in the herbed eggs and ensure adequate coverage. Then either flip it in the pan or under the broiler for final cooking.

Answer

Strong preference for fritatti - especially with leftover pasta from the previous night. Although a potato and onion one is always welcome, too, especially with enough onion. If i'm cooking breakfast for more than just me, it's easier to control the time factor while toast/English muffins, bacon/sausage, etc. is all pulled together. And I do finish them under the broiler/grill, rather than cooking the bottoms to death.

Answer

Frittate have several advantages over omelets, and they are made with a somewhat different technique. The frittata can, even should, be made ahead and can be served at room temperature. It is usually made of 4 eggs, though it can be smaller or larger, and thus serves more than one, while omelets are usually individual (and served immediately). It can be sliced like a pie into portions or into cubes for hors d'oeuvres. You can put a slice between two slices of bread or toast and take it on plane or train as an unobtrusive, not messy picnic. If you are not much of an egg person, the frittata can be filled with vegetables (zucchini, asparagus, artichokes are the classics, onion too) with just enough egg to hold it together. 
Two things about technique: Don't put it under the broiler; slide the frittata onto a plate after the eggs have set, invert the pan on top, and flip over the assembly to cook side B. The other is: If you use cheese, be sure to serve the frittata warm enough so the cheese is soft enough.

Answer

I'm an omelet girl. No good reason why, but I just am. I probably eat one every week.

Answer

The usual American sense of the word omelet has rather little relationship to the frittata, although what is commonly called a Spanish omelet is practically identical to a frittata in structure and presentation. 

In my book, an omelet(te) refers basically to a French-style preparation--high heat and mostly egg, rolled, etc. 

A frittata or Spanish omelet is much heavier, has a starch component like potato or pasta,and probably some aromatics and veggies, is cooked with minimal stirring to a custardy character, and it is either flipped just once, whole, or finished to brown the top under a broiler or salamadar.

A room temp French omelette would be too little, too late. A room temp frittata can be sublime. My two cents.

Answer

I love both. I make a frittata when I have random leftovers to put in it. Last week it was lentils and cheddar. I almost always start with a soffrito and finish under the broiler. I love omelets and almost always make them without filling, sometimes served with strawberry jam.

Answer

Hey, it's all eggs … I enjoy making anything with the fruit of the Noble Hen, and do quite a lot. My frittatas are non-classic; I do use the broiler, or more precisely the oven set on Preheat, and try to keep them unscorched. I hate the taste of scorched egg, dating from my mom's "omelets," those big fluffy dry things seared brown and tasting of burnt hair. Seeing Julia throw a real one for Johnny Carson changed my life; I picked it up pretty fast and was soon doing one or a couple (depending on whether I was one or a couple) every weekend. Recently I saw an Eric Ripert video in which he demonstrated his own low-heat, gently cooked omelet, tender rather than leathery, and have been trying to emulate that. Those aren't stout enough for much more than some cheese inside, so I'll save the ham and avocado and tomato and stuff for frittatas.

Answer

I like omelette and I like fritatta (although we'd always call the latter tortillas)

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I prefer a Frittata because the toppings get crispy when grilled. Sort of like a pizza. I love pizza.
 I make my frittatas in a cast iron pan. I heat the pan on the stove top and get it nice and hot so that when I add the egg mixture it starts to cook from the bottom. That way I avoid mushy eggs.
 While the egg mix is cooking in the pan I add the toppings and then put it under the broiler. 
 Amazing crispy cheese, onions, bacon, avocado, tomato etc..

Answer

I don't like eggs of any kind browned so would have to go with a pale yellow French-style omelet with some Gruyere inside.

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For me a "frittata" is an omelet. I left the US before ever hearing the word "frittata". I remember being sort of mistified by it in the last few years, and looked up recipes and pictures. For me it is an omelet--just the kind that you don't flip over, and I add a little flour into the egg mix--what in Spanish I would call "tortilla."

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Frittata vs. Omelet - What's your opinion?

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