Draft:Mushroom omelette

The content of this article is translated from the existing French Wikipedia article at fr:Omelette aux champignons; see its history for attribution.

Mushroom omelette

Variations	œufs brouillés aux champignons

The mushroom omelette or omelette with mushrooms is a classic omelette variation that has been extensively written about in culinary literature. Its gastronomic aspect is as varied as the types of edible mushrooms, while its darker side is the omelette made with poisonous mushrooms. It is similar to scrambled eggs with mushrooms, with Gaston Portevin including both in one chapter in his Précis de mycophagie (1939).

Simple mushroom omelettes (without additional seasonings other than some herbs or spices) are distinguished from more complex ones, such as the Jessica omelette (morels with cream and asparagus tips) or the ''chasseur'' omelette (chicken livers and mushrooms), and Catherine de Bonnechère's mussel and mushroom omelette. As early as 1729, ''Le Nouveau cuisinier royal'' included mushrooms and truffles in its crayfish omelette.

Naming

In most languages, "omelette" is paired with the local word for mushrooms: English mushroom omelette, German Pilz-Omelette or Pilzomelette, Russian грибной омлет (gribnoy omlet), Swedish svamp-omelett, Turkish mantarlı omlet.

In Chinese, 蘑菇煎蛋 (Mógū jiān dàn) means mushroom/fried/egg for mushroom omelette, and 蘑菇炒蛋 (Mógū chǎo dàn) refers to scrambled eggs with mushrooms (believed to prevent pancreatic cancer). In Japanese, きのこのオムレツ (Kinokono-omuretsu) is not common, but キノコの卵 (Kinoko no tamago), meaning eggs with mushrooms, is very popular. The Japanese site Cookpad lists 26,680 recipes with this name (as of 2022).

In Southern Europe, omelette versions are also made with mushrooms. In Italy, the frittata di funghi is made with porcini mushrooms (frittata di Funghi Porcini) and, in its composite form, frittata di carciofi funghi (artichokes and mushrooms). The preference for wild mushrooms is notable, such as the Frittata di funghi di pino (with pink-stemmed boletus - Suillus collinitus) in Sardinia. The frittata with St. George's mushrooms (Frittata di funghi prugnoli) is a specialty of Piacenza, and like elsewhere, Uova strapazzate ai funghi refers to scrambled eggs with mushrooms.

In Spain, the tortilla con champiñones commonly includes local herbs (garlic, ham, onions) and southern mushrooms: Amanita caesarea (tortilla de amanitas by Martín Berasategui) and Amanita ponderosa (scrambled eggs with gurumelos in Andalusia).

History

Mattioli Pierandrea (1627) spread the idea that "mushrooms are bad in themselves, or by eating too many. Nevertheless, they suffocate people, as one sees with hanged individuals. One must remedy this immediately by making the patient vomit; chicken eggs are good against mushrooms, taken with water and vinegar, adding a dose of buckwheat"Mattioli, Pierandrea (1627). Les Commentaires de M. P. André Matthiole,... sur les six livres de la matière médicinale,... traduits de latin en françois, par M. Antoine Du Pinet,... (in French). p. 566. Retrieved 2022-11-15.. La Varenne (1664) makes an egg batter that he pours over his fried mushroomsVarenne, François Pierre de La (1664). Le cuisinier françois: enseignant la maniere de bien apprester et assaisonner toutes sortes de viandes, légumes, patisseries,... (in French). p. 143. Retrieved 2022-11-15.. It is in L'École parfaite des officiers de bouche (1662) that the first mushroom omelet is found: "Cook mushrooms between two plates: season them with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and make an omelet... cover it with your mushrooms, fold it into a triangle: finally close it with lemon juice"L'escole parfaite des officiers de bouche: contenant le vray maistre-d'hostel, le grand escuyer-tranchant, le sommelier royal, le confiturier royal, le cuisinier royal, et le patissier royal (in French). Chez la veuve Pierre David, sur le quay des Augustins, au Roy Dauid. Et Chez Iean Ribov, sur le quay des Augustins, à l'image sainct Louïs. 1662. p. 404. Retrieved 2022-11-15..

Jules Gouffé (1884) makes an herb omelet that he garnishes with sautéed mushroomsGouffé, Jules (1884). Le livre de cuisine: comprenant la cuisine de ménage et la grande cuisine (in French). Librairie Hachette. p. 284. Retrieved 2022-11-15.. Mycology developed in the 19th century along with mycophilia. Hence, prominent authors such as Joseph Roques, Persoon, and François Simon Cordier compiled knowledge and mushroom omelet recipes not from chefs but from mushroom specialistsWit, H. C. D. de; Wit, Hendrik Cornelius Dirk De; Baudière, A. (1992). Histoire du développement de la biologie (in French). PPUR presses polytechniques. ISBN 978-2-88074-264-5. Retrieved 2022-11-16.. Jean Moyen provides precepts for mushroom cuisine: species with too tough stems should be discarded (Lepiota procera, Armillaria mellea, Collybia fusipes, Boletus scaber, etc.), he confirms the usefulness of lemon juice in mushroom garnishes, and advises not to cook species of different textures together: "a few minutes may suffice for very tender ones, while others such as Hedgehogs, Chanterelles, Milky Caps require nearly an hour"Moyen, Jean (1889). Les Champignons: Traité élémentaire et pratique de mycologie (in French). Rothschild. Retrieved 2022-11-16..

Escoffier (1934) adds parsley to his mushrooms, not using them as a garnish but mixing them with beaten eggs before cooking everything into an omelet. He adds, "as a variant, one can add either a pinch of chopped chives or two tablespoons of Provençal sautéed tomatoes"Auguste Escoffier (1934). Ma cuisine. 2 500 recettes (in French). p. 119. Retrieved 2022-11-16..

In the 20th century, Jean Trarieux (Les champignons et leur empire: Récits extraordinaires) wrote a heterogeneous encyclopedia on the subjectTrarieux, Jean (1986-01-01). Les champignons et leur empire: Récits extraordinaires (in French). FeniXX réédition numérique. ISBN 978-2-307-18680-9. Retrieved 2022-11-16..

Omelette aux girolles

Mushroom Omelets

Joseph Roques (1841) provides extensive information on the uses of mushrooms from Western Europe in omelets. For example, he blanches chanterelles before putting them in the omelet ("one should never neglect to do this," says Le Journal des Jeunes filles from September 1870"Le Journal des jeunes filles / [directeur-gérant Ch. Compaing]". Gallica (in French). 1870-09-01. p. 203. Retrieved 2022-11-15.), he cooks Agaricus campestris (the field mushroom) with bacon and herbs before using it to garnish the omelet, and he speaks highly of the Miller mushroom (Clitopilus prunulus)Joseph Roques (1841). Histoire des champignons comestibles et vénéneux : où l'on expose leurs caractères distinctifs, leurs propriétés alimentaire et économiques, leurs effets nuisibles et les moyens de s'en garantir ou d'y remédier (in French). Retrieved 2022-11-15..

The Mushroom Filling

The mushroom filling for the omelet is cooked separately from the eggs, in butter. According to some authors, the mushrooms are chopped, while others suggest slicing them. Alain Ducasse reduces them to a puree using a blender (he first cooks them with shallots in chicken broth), which he then spreads on the omelet before rolling it. François Marin (1758) adds veal jus, but primarily he introduces the mushroom filling with cream bound with egg yolk (the same method is used for the omelet with fresh fairy ring mushrooms, he says). Guillaume Belèze adds Spanish sauce to the mushrooms while cooking. Caroline Vannier recommends using demi-glace sauce in the filling.

Lecointe et Durey. La cuisinière de la ville et de la campagne. 1831

The Sauce

If there is a sauce in the filling, it must be very thick. The mushrooms are placed on the omelet with a skimmer to avoid soaking it, and the rest of the sauce is poured over the folded omelet, ready to serve, as a sauce. Achille Ozanne writes about the morel omelet: “Care should be taken to add the morels with very little juice to the omelet, and to save some to pour around.” Cooking the mushroom filling with a little white wine and roast jus leaves a bit of sauce. When this sauce includes black truffles, it is spread over the omelet to make an "omelette à la Richelieu". A. Bautte adds a bit of Madeira sauce to the filling of his mushroom omelet. Joseph Favre thickens the cooking of the Paris mushrooms with butter and starch to form a "compact" sauce. Cyril Lignac prepares his filling of Paris mushrooms with parsley and hazelnut, then coats his folded omelet with cream and yellow wine reheated in the omelet pan.

Truffle Omelet

In digitized French texts, the truffle omelet is more frequently mentioned than the morel omelet. The Appert Institute (1906) distinguishes between the truffle omelet (an omelet filled with truffles cooked in white wine, then folded) and the truffled omelet, where truffle slices are cooked with the eggs before rolling the omelet. In both cases, truffles that are too small for other uses are utilized. The preparation of the truffle filling varies: cooked in Madeira with bacon and glaze or meat or poultry demi-glace according to Gaston Portevin.

On donne aux morilles un gout de violette: omelette aux morilles et pensées.

Wild Mushroom Omelets

Morel Mushroom Omelet

"According to fine gourmets, the morel mushroom omelet surpasses the truffle omelet. The recipe is not very complicated, but it requires certain care. Here is the procedure to achieve a perfect result: immerse the morels in warm water to remove any dirt that may have slipped into the cavities of the cap; remove them gently and quickly, as prolonged washing would strip the morels of their delightful aroma, which is reminiscent of both truffle and mushroom. After that, lightly dry them, cut them into pieces, and sauté them over low heat in a pan with good butter; once done, pour in well-beaten eggs, and make the omelet." Babet. La France, March 31, 1882.

99 Omelettes Originales (1976, a bible of omelets) provides two morel mushroom omelet recipes: morels in butter and morels in cream, where the morels are cooked with a little dry white wine before adding the cream.

Wolf's Foot Omelet

This omelet is renowned in England and Italy. Calvatia gigantea, sliced with the skin on, is suggested as a soufflé omelet by Connaître, cueillir et cuisiner les champignons sauvages du Québec (2002), with the garnish cooking for 10 minutes. There is a variation where slices of giant wolf's foot are dipped in beaten egg yolks and sprinkled with fine herbs, then fried in butter under the name "wolf's foot omelet" (1893). The same Revue Britannique describes it as excellent and explains that one can remove a slice of the mushroom and allow it to continue growing without harm. François Simon Cordier recommends preferring young wolf's foot mushrooms.

Omelette aux cèpes (Pyrénées Atlantiques) pliée en portefeuille

Porcini Mushroom Omelet

Sometimes referred to as "Périgourdine omelet," this dish is often served in Quercy and Périgord. A touch of garlic can be added to the porcini mushroom topping, which should be cooked vigorously. It is a classic where the filling of bacon bits (blanched) and chervil is mixed into the beaten eggs before cooking. Paul Reboux (1934) describes the procedure in detail: “One should not just throw porcini mushrooms into an omelet at the moment of folding it. This way of stuffing omelets at the last minute is insufferably crude. Beat the eggs. Season them with pepper and salt. Mix in a bit of fresh cream and some fresh porcini mushrooms sliced and lightly browned in butter. Inside, you will place a generous amount of finely chopped porcini mushrooms bathed in a cream and broth sauce with a bit of seasoning. This same cream sauce should be poured over the omelet, and the layer of cream should be slightly browned under the upper heat of the oven before serving the dish to the guests.” The filling with porcini mushrooms prepared Bordelaise-style (with garlic, Madeira, and broth) is also mentioned.

It is found with porcini mushrooms mixed with chanterelles, with morels, with Burgundy snails and walnuts.

Other Wild Mushrooms

The chanterelle is prepared like the agaric (with olive oil or butter, wine, parsley). Paulet mentions the method given by Apicius: cooking in reduced wine with coriander, or meat juices, binding with honey, oil, and egg yolks. The beautiful russula Russula lepida is noted as excellent in omelettes, as is the Omelette aux pieds-de-moutons or with Saint George's mushrooms. Lactarius mushrooms require long cooking. The shaggy ink cap should be chosen young for omelettes and cooked briefly over high heat. Charles Richon finds large parasols too strong in taste for omelettes. Linda Louis adds green cabbage (which provides a fresh touch) to her trumpet mushroom omelette. The amethyst deceiver gives a colorful omelette.

omelette aux bolets

Cultivated Mushroom Omelette

The most common is the omelette with button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus), which are gently cooked in butter (50 g for 2 eggs) and poured onto the omelette before folding; a few slices are reserved for decoration. The Judas’s ear (Auricularia auricula-judae), which grows on elder wood, is an Asian mushroom that can also be used in omelettes, including when rehydrated and prepared like the previous examples.

Chinese black mushrooms (Auricularia nigricans) are prepared in an omelette called 洋葱木耳炒鸡蛋 (scrambled eggs with onions and mushrooms): a mixture of black mushrooms, onion, oil, vinegar, and soy sauce is combined with beaten eggs. The maitake mushroom is the Japanese variety most suited to omelettes.

Around the Mushroom Omelette

Variants

œufs farcis aux champignons

The combination of eggs and mushrooms is quite fruitful. Hard-boiled eggs with mushrooms (1758) are cooked together and then cream is added. Cooked eggs can be topped with a mushroom sauce. Stuffed eggs with mushrooms (with parsley and shallots) can be served as a mushroom egg gratin.

In old cuisine, pâtés de godiveau were small pastries made with veal, breadcrumbs, cream, parsley, scallions, mushrooms, and eggs, baked in puff pastry.

For Escoffier, the Durand omelette is a mushroom and artichoke omelette with a ribbon of tomato demi-glace sauce; the Mexican omelette is a mushroom, red pepper, and tomato omelette.

What to Drink with Mushroom Omelette?

Wine and eggs are not easy to pair, and recommendations for wine with mushroom omelette vary widely from simple wines to more complex ones.

Some wines with aromatic evolution and forest scents pair well with the egg-mushroom mixture, such as Portuguese red monovarietals like baga (from the Bairrada region). Conversely, in Italy, dry white wines, moderately full-bodied (such as Colli di Conegliano Bianco or Velletri Bianco), or sparkling wines (spumante), especially those from Latium, are preferred.

Truffle omelettes call for aged, high-quality wines, such as fine reds (grand Burgundy, Meursault, Margaux, Pomerol) or whites (Puligny-Montrachet, a Hermitage Blanc, fine Jura). The list of recommended wines is similar for porcini omelette, with some easier options.

In Italy, omelettes with chanterelles are paired with Pinot Noir. The Agrelo from Mendoza in Argentina is also highly rated, as well as full-bodied (red) wines from Alentejo.

Paris mushroom omelettes go well with fruity, light, supple red wines (such as Beaujolais).

For mushroom galette lovers, a balanced cider, not too sweet, with a hint of acidity and bitterness and aromas of ripe fruits and flowers is appreciated.

Deadly Omelette

Toxic mushrooms have long caused poisoning, often fatal. The symptoms of mushroom poisoning are described by the ANSES.

Jean Trarieux lists the three main poisoners: the death cap (90% of fatal poisonings - description of a poisoning from an omelette by Joseph Roques), the death cap (Amanita muscaria), and the spring amanita. A poisoning from an omelette made with the fly agaric is described in 1896 in the Bulletin of the Société mycologique de France. For a long time, the press has reported cases of entire families poisoned by a beautiful omelette.

The novel "Le diamant rose" by Claude Montorge teaches us how to identify the culprit of a mushroom omelet poisoning: "Roger de Saules had not touched the mushroom omelet that had been served. He had pretended to lack appetite and, moments later, had greedily attacked the chicken. The sick man struggled to dismiss a monstrous idea that had just surfaced in his mind: [ ] How long after the consumption of poisonous plants can accidents occur? he asked [the doctor]. - Twelve, sixteen, sometimes twenty-four hours. - Then, there is no doubt, we are poisoned by mushrooms" . The time delay for the onset of clinical signs is a key element in diagnosing phalloid poisoning. The film "Le Roman d'un tricheur" portrays how a cheater, deprived of dinner for theft, escapes the death of his entire family due to a mushroom omelet.

Anthology

• Achille Ozanne. L'Art culinaire: Organe officiel de la Société des cuisiniers français. Paris. January 1895.

I love to revisit that retreat

Sheltered by giant trees

Whose tops are stirred by the wind

Like the waves of the oceans.

The beautiful harvest of morels

That we used to collect as children,

In ragged smocks,

After the brambles of the paths!

And so proud of our harvest

What sparks in our fiery eyes,

When the omelet appeared....

That we devoured with relish!

• Le Mercure d'Orthez et des Basses-Pyrénées Tribunaux - Cour d'assises des Landes. November 20, 1875. (Poisoning by death cap is described as comparable to phosphorus poisoning)

Madame Descat, who has just appeared before the Landes Assize Court, is a follower of Mrs. Lafarge, but a follower far below her model. She attempted to poison her husband to fully devote herself to her lover, Mr. Poussade, whom she had managed to introduce into the house as a boarder. [ ] Eventually, Descat, having become suspicious, dismissed the intruder.

His wife felt a strong irritation and, on July 19, she prepared a certain mushroom omelet that was meant to rid her of her husband forever. One evening, Descat came home from work and found his wife in bed complaining of a severe headache. He took the omelet his wife had prepared from a drawer and took a bite; the taste was so unbearable that he stopped, his stomach turning in disgust.

He immediately went to bed, but the heat he felt in his intestines kept him from sleeping. He constantly fought the urge to vomit and then had the idea to check the remains of his omelet: he found it filled with pieces of chemical matches.

Found guilty, with mitigating circumstances, the accused was sentenced to 12 years of hard labor.

• Louis Ternier. Causerie de saison. Les Cèpes. Le Figaro, October 21, 1923. p. 6

I have just enjoyed an omelet with porcini mushrooms picked that very morning, upon returning from the hunt. The porcini could be the poor man's truffle, and we are poor in truffles in Normandy. Note, however, that in the land of truffles, porcini is also held in high regard, despite the truffle, which I would not dare to speak ill of, when I have the chance to meet it with a pheasant or a partridge, or even with scrambled eggs or an omelet.

Bibliography

Works that include discussions on mushroom omelets:

• Joseph Roques. Histoire des champignons comestibles et vénéneux. Fortin, Masson, 1841, François Simon Cordier. Les champignons de la France: histoire, description, culture, usages. J. Rothschild, 1870. 505 p., Wilhelm Medicus. Nos champignons comestibles: Guide populaire pour distinguer les champignons. A. Gotthold, 1884. 30 p. Jean Moyen. Les Champignons: Traité élémentaire et pratique de mycologie. Rothschild, 1889, Gaston Portevin. Ce qu'il faut savoir pour manger les bons champignons: Précis de mycophagie. Paris, P. Lechevalier. 1939, Henri Philippon. Cuisine du Quercy et du Périgord, Paris, 1988, Jean-Claude Ferrero. Champignons: cueillettes et recettes, Paris, Ed. du Chêne, Grasset, 1997<ref>{{cite book|language=FR|author1=Jean-Claude Ferrero|title=Champignons : cueillettes et recettes ; with collaboration from Jean-Christophe Brochier ; photographs, Christine Fleurent ; styling, Marie-France Michalon|date=1997|read online=https