Ziploc Omelet

ZIPLOC OMELET
My Children and now Grandchildren have fun doing this.
The best part is that no one has to wait for their omelet. Have guests write their name on a quart-size Ziploc freezer bag with permanent marker.

*2 eggs (large or extra-large)
*Filler: cheeses, onion, green pepper, tomato, hash browns, salsa, etc. [what ever you want]
*large pot of boiling water.


2 eggs Cracked into a zip lock bag (not more than 2)
shake to combine them.

Add filler of choice to bag and shake. Make sure to get the air out of the bag and zip it up. Place the bags into rolling, boiling water for exactly 13 minutes.

You can usually cook 6-8 omelets in a large pot. Open the bags and the omelet will roll out easily. Be prepared for everyone to be amazed.

Sounds amazing for sure. My grand kids will love this (and their grandma too). Good one Rustpot.

Many years ago, we used to do those with the Girl Scouts at camp. We'd put a big pot of water on the fire to boil, and let each girl make her own omelette. They all loved it.

Then some agency or another came along and claimed that boiling food in those bags was unsafe for some reason - they supposedly leached chemicals into the food. Baggie omelettes stopped being a staple at Scout camps after that.

It's funny how many portable dishes started out with the Boy & Girl Scouts. Hobo Stew, S'mores or Trail Mix anyone?

This one has been making the rounds for several years now.

Folks - DON'T DO IT. I know it sounds cute & quick, but it's absolutely true that this IS NOT SAFE.

I personally contacted the manufacturers of all the popular "Ziploc"-type bags about this recipe when if first began hitting boards all over the place, & they all responded that this is NOT SAFE, & the bags were never meant to be cooked in.

BreezyCooking said:

This one has been making the rounds for several years now.

Folks - DON'T DO IT. I know it sounds cute & quick, but it's absolutely true that this IS NOT SAFE.

I personally contacted the manufacturers of all the popular "Ziploc"-type bags about this recipe when if first began hitting boards all over the place, & they all responded that this is NOT SAFE, & the bags were never meant to be cooked in.

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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]This is the first time I have ever heard of this. My apologize to all! I did not know this. I will look into this. [/FONT]

No worries. You're definitely not the first person to post this. And it sounded so good to me is why I contacted the bag manufacturers (all two of them make all the popular bags), both of which said "no go". The bags are meant for food storage purposes only.

But there must be bags made for heat, right? Crockpot bags, etc ?

chocolate moose said:

But there must be bags made for heat, right? Crockpot bags, etc ?

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That's right! I am going to look into that. The grand kids think it is so cool. rats!

BreezyCooking said:

No worries. You're definitely not the first person to post this. And it sounded so good to me is why I contacted the bag manufacturers (all two of them make all the popular bags), both of which said "no go". The bags are meant for food storage purposes only.

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I have E-mailed one of them and ask what is in the bag that made it unsafe to cook in it.

Do post back, as maybe they've changed things. I contacted them around 3 years ago or so when this recipe first hit the internet waves.

This has gone around here before. Here are some links.

http://www.quazen.com/Recreation/Out...rocedure.87000

http://camping.about.com/od/campingr...locbaggies.htm

http://ezinearticles.com/?Toxic-Zipl...ure&id=1841554
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As to safe bags. Foodsaver bags are boilable.

Bradly bags https://www.bradleybag.com/catalog/ makes boilable microwavable bags.

Adillo303 said:

This has gone around here before. Here are some links.

http://www.quazen.com/Recreation/Out...rocedure.87000

http://camping.about.com/od/campingr...locbaggies.htm

http://ezinearticles.com/?Toxic-Zipl...ure&id=1841554
__________________

As to safe bags. Foodsaver bags are boilable.

Bradly bags https://www.bradleybag.com/catalog/ makes boilable microwavable bags.

Click to expand...

Thanks

I've seen these mentioned before but never actually tried them myself. Thanks for the reminder...maybe I'll get around to trying it out this time.

I have heard of it done but have never tried it myself. gonna have to give it a try sometime.

this was going around back a few years;

At the time, I searched Snopes...... here's what they said..........

"We have contacted the Ziploc company and they replied by telling us that ZIPLOC® brand Bags cannot be used to boil food. They also told us that they do not manufacture a "boilable" bag.... yet.
"They do not recommend using any ZIPLOC® brand Bag in boiling water, or to "boil" in the microwave. ZIPLOC® brand Bags are made from polyethylene plastic with a softening point of approximately 195 degrees Fahrenheit. By pouring near boiling water (water begins to boil at 212 degrees) into the bag, or putting the bag into the water, the plastic could begin to melt. Might I add that eggs and cheese have fat which gets much hotter than water thus the likelihood of melting the plastic increases.

By Joseph Parish

"This method of using plastic zip-lock bags can be down right dangerous. Those appetizing zip-lock omelets are without doubt extremely toxic."
next sentence:
"The University of Illinois has released a statement saying that Ziploc omelets represent nothing more then a toxic cocktail. Those entire quick omelet instructions you may encounter on the internet or you possibly watch on the food channel can be dreadfully deceptive. The practice of cooking with plastic bags has not received enough exploratory research necessary. There simply does not exist enough research data to ascertain if the process is hazardous or not due."

so first it is without doubt toxic, three sentences later, there's not enough research.
really good logic.

and this one:
"Since the egg and cheese contained in an omelet includes fat of their own the mixture tends to get even hotter then the boiling water."
okay, this dude needs to go back to high school science.
placed in water it is physically impossible for any substance to become hotter than the water it is in - unless it is creating an exothermic chemical reaction; which eggs and cheese do not demonstrate, btw.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1841554

so why does the manufacturer waffle on their use?
"The company has stated that the Zip-lock bag was never designed or approved for subjection to these extremes of heat found when boiling and they do not recommend such procedures."
see: coffee, hot, McDonalds, woman, burned legs


http://camping.about.com link does not exist anymore
http://www.quazen.com/Recreation/Out...rocedure.87000 is a link to Joseph Parish's Ezinearticle.

today, searching snopes.com turns up nothing using omelet or ziploc.
but this:
http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cookplastic.asp
is interesting.

and this guy
http://1heckofaguy.com/2007/01/15/to-make-an-omelette-does-one-have-to-take-a-few-carcinogens/
has more time than I do to track down the history of the rumor. if one looks up the "references" of the "plastic will kill you" hyperbole one will quickly recognize there seems to be a single source that is thenceforth quoted further and further as absolute proven fact and truth.

Frankly, I really don't know why some people require additional verification.

I contacted the two major manufacturers of Ziploc & Ziploc-type bags. BOTH manufacturers e-mailed me back that they'd heard about the omelet thing and BOTH said that their product(s) were DEFINITELY NOT MEANT for that use. The products were for FOOD STORAGE ONLY. NOT for cooking.

Exactly what else do you need to hear other than what came directly from the horses' mouths?

BreezyCooking said:

Frankly, I really don't know why some people require additional verification.

I contacted the two major manufacturers of Ziploc & Ziploc-type bags. BOTH manufacturers e-mailed me back that they'd heard about the omelet thing and BOTH said that their product(s) were DEFINITELY NOT MEANT for that use. The products were for FOOD STORAGE ONLY. NOT for cooking.

Exactly what else do you need to hear other than what came directly from the horses' mouths?

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yeah, what's the question?

are they not for that use because they are toxic and will kill you - as the phenopfreaks insist

or

as the manufacturer says, because the plastic is not intended to take the heat and (by inference) could break and spill hot stuff over some little brownie?

did the manufacturer say their plastic leaches toxic chemicals into your food?
the phenopfreaks says it does - and the phenopfreaks also say there's no research.
what's the point?

Honestly, it was several years ago & I don't remember exactly what they told me except for the gist, which was DON'T DO IT. That's really all I needed to hear.

Several members of my family including myself have made omelets in a bag for years and we're all still here.

http://netcookingtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1299

it all old news anyway - Ziploc now has a zip and steam bag type.

used for microwave cooking; the have a recipe for omelet on the website.

if the zip and steam bag stands up to microwave cooking, it'll for sure work fine in a boiling water bath.

IT MIGHT stand up, but not be healthny. anyway, it seems like most people don't boil up water for omlettes anymore; when I'm in a hurry I nuke the beaten egg for 20 seconds or so, sometimes twice. it's much faster than waiting for water to boil.

I agree. I mean, honestly, how long does it take to cook an omelet the conventional way? 3-5 minutes maybe? Who the heck wants to fool around with plastic bags, boiling water &/or the microwave. Just heat up your pan, pour in your eggs & other ingredients, & 3-5 minutes later, you're done.

I think the point of the thread is that it is something fun for kids to do.

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Each of us has to make up his own mind weather it is safe to cook eggs in a Ziploc bags or not. [/FONT]

Today's kids, with internet and games and all kind of other nonsense, aren't going to be amused by making eggs !!

Bisphenol A (BPA) would be my worry here. I never let hot or even warm food touch plastic. Lately, I have stopped storing food in plastic altogether. Even worse is using plastic of any kind in a microwave.

Bells said:

Bisphenol A (BPA) would be my worry here. I never let hot or even warm food touch plastic. Lately, I have stopped storing food in plastic altogether. Even worse is using plastic of any kind in a microwave.

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I belive I am going to do the same thing Bells. I stoped using a microwave years ago. Now I think I'll get rid of all plastic. Go back to the old ways.
When we got rid of the microwave my daughter ask how are we going to warm our food & pop popcorn? "The horror of it all!"

I agree and many people are doing the same. Mine just sits there taking up space.

nuts, another perfectly good theory down the disposal . . . .

http://www.ziploc.com/Pages/Safety.aspx