Similarly to what we believe today, people a hundred year ago believed that healthy eating was important, and that good nutrition could support their health. A 1918 cookbook called the Nature Cure Cook Book is chock full of health advice and interesting recipes.
The recipe for Fruit Omelette intrigued me. Eggs and fruit are both nutritious foods, but I’d never before seen them combined in an omelette.
This recipe offers lots of options. It can be made using “apple sauce, stewed pears, peaches, plums, berries, raisins, etc.” or, as indicated in the note at the end of the recipe, grated apples. And, either cinnamon or nutmeg could be used to season the omelette. I decided to go with the grated apple option and cinnamon.
I served Grated Apple Omelette at breakfast – though it had a dessert-like essence. The omelette had a nice cinnamon-apple flavor, and the liquid from the grated apples combined with the eggs during baking to create an omelette with a custard-like texture.
The old recipe calls for “sugar to taste.” I used two tablespoons of sugar when I made the recipe – though I think that it would work just fine to skip the sugar.
Here is the recipe updated for modern cooks:
2 cups grated apples, (2-3 peeled and core apples, grated) 5 eggs, well beaten 1 tablespoon melted butter 2 tablespoons sugar 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon Preheat oven to 375° F. Put eggs in mixing bowl, and beat until light and foamy. Add butter, sugar, and cinnamon; beat until combined. Then stir in grated apples. Put egg mixture in a well-greased oven-proof skillet. Put in oven and bake until the eggs are set (approximately 20 minutes). Remove from oven, loosen the edges with a knife or spatula, then gently flip or slide onto a plate. Fold in half to create the omelette. To make the most visually appealing omelette, it should be folded so that the side which was facing up when in the pan is on the outside of the finished omelette. Cook’s note: Care must be used when removing omelette from pan and when folding to keep it all in one piece.Grated Apple Omelette
A Hundred Years Ago 
I don’t know about this one… I’m not sure if I like the idea of apple with cooked egg… interesting idea though.
It works in an interesting way – though with the apples and cinnamon it seems more like a dessert than a typical omelette.
Going to try this one. Sheryl thank you!
I think that you’ll like it.
Interesting idea!!
I agree- I never would have thought about making omelettes that contain fruit.
Interesting! H’s mother ate jelly omelettes. Probably not so healthy! ~Elle
I never would have thought of putting jelly on an omelette – though I now want to try it to see what it tastes like. 🙂
I’ve never tried it. Thought it was strange. Lol!
Yummmy
It’s tasty – though quite different from the typical omelette.
Speaking of healthy food 100 years ago, have you read about the history of Kellogg’s and the corned flakes? Pretty interesting. Not sure the best site.
I’ve seen a little about the health spa at Battle Creek, Michigan; and how some of the early cereals (as well as graham crackers) were considered health foods. Some of their ideas seem very unusual today – but I guess it provides a window into the times. It’s interesting how something that was once considered a health food was the beginnings of a major cereal manufacturer.
looks yummy! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I did – I hope that you also had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Guess this would taste similar to scramble eggs with applesauce… the children did this to their eggs. I didn’t care for it but they loved it.
Yes, it sounds similar – especially if there was a little cinnamon in the apple sauce. Kids come up with some interesting food combinations.
This recipe sounds lovely. I used your recipe for spiced cranberries. It was a hit on Thanksgiving day. My husband said it tasted like his favorite cranberry/mince pie, so he was especially pleased. There is a tablespoon of it left.
Thanks for letting me. It’s wonderful to hear that you tried the Spiced Cranberry recipe and that it was a hit.
This is so intriguing, I want to make one. It also has very common ingredients which is great.
I think that you’d like it. One thing that like about old recipes is that many of them only call for a few (generally commonly available) ingredients.
Looks very tasty! I’ve never considered using fruit for an omelette before, but after reading this, I will try anything once!