There are so many different baked egg dishes that it can be hard to know which is which. The word frittata means fried, which refers to how the eggs are fried in the cooking fat in the oven. Frittatas are essentially like large baked omelets and are quite different from quiches. They are generally started in a skillet on the stovetop and then finished in the oven in the same pan. They also have less dairy than quiches, which are often taller and usually have pastry bases.