How to Make an Omelet in a Ziplock Bag

Making omelets can be very difficult and messy. However, by using a plastic bag and some boiling water, the process is simplified greatly. This can be used indoors and while on camping trips. It's a fun, easy way to make breakfast without a hassle.

Step 1 Gather Your Ingredients

You will need:
-2 or 3 eggs
-a plastic bag with a very good seal
-a medium pot
-enough water to fill the pot about halfway
-a whisk
-a large spoon

You should also get other spices, cheeses, and toppings as desired.

Comments

[beerboyone]

First comment is correct...when standard zip lock bags are heated the plastic starts to break down and can be harmfull over time. I believe there are special high heat bags that are safe to use, but i'm to lazy to search for you right now.

[brianfss]

Whenever I read a comment and someone says "I'm too lazy...." I think,"Why should I take the advice of someone who is too lazy to do a little research.

[Bosun Rick]

      Curious question: What about making the omlet-in-a-bag(s) at home in advance, then packing them in your cooler for your camping trip?How would they fare if you were to freeze them before the trip?
     Yes, they would have to be kept cold, but this would save lots of time while on a trip (all the better to enjoy that precious "time off"). You could mark each bag with the contents if in a family situation where not everyone likes the same thing. Not like my Dad - "your Mother cooked it, you'll eat it and like it"; Seriously, he didn't say that, it just sounded funny in today's world.

[Tim Temple]

Just add two drops of silver colloid and laugh as the Salmonella bacteria a smothered to death! Listen closely an maybe you can heard their screams.

[lol XD]

I've made these before in boy scouts... mmmm :D

[maevonnie]

Weird. I am happy creating my omelet in a pan, thanks though. How bizarre. I mean, I understand it might be nice if you go camping or something, but it still would weird me out to eat it out of a plastic bag. But that's just me. http://www.jwh018free.com/shop

[punkhead58]

Good idea for camping. I wouldn't use this at home though....as a matter of fact, I would try to use this method as seldom as possible as heating plastic can release BPA.

[kelton10]

Akrinna, you have done a wonderful job of making this tutorial and all people are saying is that you are trying to poison them, so  i would just add: use a large pot to prevent the bag from leaking egg at the small chance of something going wrong such as using generic bags.

Hope this helps.

[sinema116]

Please be careful using plastic around food items. When heating plastic as with boiling on the stove or the microwave, it releases toxic chemicals....some of which will end up in the food you will consume.

http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Plasticizers/Out-Of-Diet-PG5nov03.htm

[Mandrew]

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/d/dioxins.htm

Rumours from the internet. The article you posted sights dangers perceived to be inherent with plastics. It's based on speculation from 1958, and not research. There is some evidence that plastics could produce dioxins when heated, and they would be transferred to the food, however unless your microwave can heat the plastics to 1500 Celsius (And assuming the food survived) this seems like a moot point.

There could be some risk involved in using plastics for cooking, but it seems negligible. Ziploc bags are made without BPA the endocrine disruptor that can mimic human hormones in high doses, and are probably perfectly safe to cook in. Especially considering your microwave almost certainly peaks at less then 260.

The real microwave danger is with paper products that have been bleached

[mncamper]

I've done this while camping once or twice. Add some fresh onions or green peppers and it's quite tasty. If you're worried about chemicals, man up (it's not like you're eating this way every day) or buy the baggies specifically for cooking.

[Akrinna]

Thanks for all the comments, everyone! As this is my first post on the site, it's a very nice surprise to get so much feedback and constructive comments so quickly!

[westfw]

I remember back in college, I had a bunch of creative methods for "cooking" using nothing but a small coffee pot (capable of boiling water, and that's about it.) That was just before microwave ovens became common, and I now put it in the "obsolete" category. I hadn't thought of camping trips; thats a pretty good idea (and an example of where a pot of boiling water may be the major cooking appliance.) This would be a more interesting instructable if the "cooking" step used a more interesting heat source. Can you cook eggs using hot tap water (140-180F)? The Omlet might even come out flat. What about "minimal" solar cooking (a practical version of frying an egg on the hot sidewalk?)

[Akrinna]

Thanks! I'll test the tap water thing, although water temperature can vary by household and the max temperature can be changed for safety purposes. I can see it now, a giant parabolic array of solar panels in the back yard aimed carefully at a pan of eggs...

[killerjackalope]

I found out that to fry and egg it needs to be 4 degree hotter than enough to burn skin, not sure of the truth in it but I gave solar frying an egg a go on a hot day there but leaving the frying pan in the sun until it was as hot as it could really get and it sort of worked, though the egg going on sapped a lot of heat from the pan...

[l8nite]

nice instruc but 13 minutes????? I would think the eggs would be rubbery cooked that long. Eggs are best used at room temp, with pasturized eggs theres little chance of salmanella, many cultures don't refrigerate eggs at all. If your looking to avoid a mess why use the bowl? crack the eggs into the bag and either whisk or squish to scramble them

[Akrinna]

It worked when I cooked them for 13 minutes... Good point about the bowl, I'll change that. (-:

[killerjackalope]

I never refridgerate my eggs unless they're a giant pack that I may need an extra day or two past sell by to eat, works fine for me...

[Kaelessin]

ha! my dad makes eggs like this . . .he likes the no mess aspect I think. I'm personally a sucker for the butter fried taste of the old fashioned way.

[atombomb1945]

Two points on the chemical questions. First, you would have to boil that bag for hours before it even thought about breaking down. Second, the water cannot come to a high enough heat to breakdown the bag. The only way it would melt is if it would come in contact with the bottom or sides of the pot (Direct Thermal Transfer) It is safe.

[randofo]

It may not be a good idea to cook food by this method. Plastics tends to release chemicals when heated.