Is the secret of a good omelet is in the cooking or in the pan? Answer is both. Omelets, to be soft and runny in the center while smooth on the surface, should be cooked very quickly over a heat that is brisk but not too fierce. If cooked slowly, they become flat and tough and similar to scrambled eggs. To ensure even cooking, use a small, heavy-based nonstick frying pan. Better still, invest in an omelet pan, in which the base meets the side in a gentle curve to make it easier to fold the omelet and slide it out. After use, do not wash an omelet pan but simply wipe it clean with kitchen paper.

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Fresh olives are very bitter and must be 'cured' or pickled in brine to render them edible, so they are naturally long-keeping. However, when removed from their brine they will begin to go soft and deteriorate in flavor. Once the jar or can has been opened, or if bought loose in their brine, olives should be stored in the refrigerator and eaten within a few days. Those stored in olive or some other cooking oil will keep for about two weeks in the refrigerator, as long as they are completely submerged in the oil. The oil will take on some flavor from the olives and this delicately flavored oil is very pleasant for cooking.

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They are essentially the same fruit, picked at different stages of ripeness: unripe olives are green, black are fully ripe, and those with a violet tinge are picked sometime in-between. Black olives have a fruitier taste than the green and are more often used in cooking. Olives are one of the oldest processed foods known to man, and there are many regional varieties and preferences. In Spain, there are smooth, green table varieties, from large queen olives to the refined manzanilla often sold stoned and stuffed with red pepper, anchovy, orange rind or almonds. Purple-black Kalamata olives from Greece have an intense flavor, especially those allowed to ripen on the tree. The shiny Nicoise olives from Provence are small, black and wrinkled with an almost creamy taste and are often sold in jars. Kalamata and Nicoise olives are the ones most often used in cooking.

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Olive oils are classified according to their level of acidity. The first cold pressing of a high grade of olives produces the finest olive oil, with a maximum acidity level of only 1 percent and this is called extra-virgin olive oil. Further processing by heat produces more oil, which decreases in quality and flavor. Fine virgin olive oil contains a maximum acidity level of 1.5 percent; ordinary virgin olive oil of 3 percent. Plain olive oil, sometimes called pure olive oil, is made from a blend of refined oil and one of the grades of virgin oil.

Olive oil is healthy and versatile, and it is worth buying the best quality that you can afford. It is important to use virgin olive oil in sauces.

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There are more than 20 different culinary oils available, including avocado and pumpkin seed oils; in addition, there are many varieties of olive and flavored oils. Oils which are fairly neutral in flavor and can withstand high temperatures, such as those made from corn, grapeseed, peanut, rapeseed (canola) and sunflower, are best for cooking. Others, such as almond, hazelnut, sesame and walnut oils, are more suitable for flavoring foods. Some oils, such as olive, may be used for both.

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The traditional noodle for chicken noodle soup is a narrow, square tube rather than a rounded noodle, but any small, narrow egg pasta would be an acceptable substitute. The word "noodle" is confusing because although it was used in the past to describe hollow, macaroni-type pasta, today it is used when referring to long, flat Italian pasta such as fettuccine, pappardelle, tagliarini, tagliatelle or tagliolini. To complicate matters further, Chinese noodles are generally thin and round, like spaghetti.

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