To succeed in making an omelette, it is just as important to use quality ingredients as it is to follow some basic hygiene rules. Eggs often contain microorganisms such as salmonella that can cause nasty food poisoning to whoever eats them. What is the use of cooking a ten-size omelette if the price to pay for eating it is to spend an entire afternoon locked in the bathroom?
This food is especially dangerous when eaten raw, because the bacteria it contains are only killed if the egg reaches a temperature of 75 °C. Lovers of tortillas without curdling may not like this rule too much, but if we ignore it, the risk of poisoning increases. When this recipe is eaten with the raw yolk, increasing hygiene measures, consuming it immediately after cooking it and not serving it to children and pregnant women is key.
Along the same lines, food technologist Mario Sánchez has explained through a video posted on Instagram that there is another "serious mistake" that many people make when cooking this recipe. It is about using the same plate in which the eggs have been beaten to serve the cooked omelette. "It's fatal, horrible, it can't be done," insists the expert, author of the SefiFood blog.
This is so because even if we have cooked the eggs at more than 75°C, when the omelette comes into contact with the raw yolk on the plate, it runs the risk of being contaminated again. "Better not be lazy and take a clean plate to serve it," recommends Sánchez. Some may think that this practice is not very common, but serving the tortilla on the plate that has been used to turn it and that is full of raw yolk is. In this case, it is also better to take a clean one to bring to the table.
If these tips are ignored and the tortilla spends hours at room temperature, "we will almost certainly have a festival of microorganisms set up," concludes the food technologist.
Another common mistake that can put our health at risk and favor the spread of microorganisms in preparations such as potato omelette is to crack the egg in the container that will be beaten. The shell is usually a source of bacteria that, when it comes into contact with the dish, can contaminate the beaten egg.
Breaking it like this also makes it easier for pieces of the shell to fall into the yolk, which is also not very hygienic. The best way to crack an egg is to hit it on a flat surface, such as marble. It has to be dropped and pressed with the fingers on the broken area.
"I don't pay attention to these recommendations and nothing has ever happened to me", some will think. About this, just say that knowing the origin of a poisoning is not an easy task, since the symptoms can manifest days later. As food technologist Beatriz Robles points out in her book Eat Safe by Eating Everything, "Most of the time you won't know what food caused it." So better not take the risk.
