Name: Poached Eggs and Broiled Ham a L’lndienne
Ingredients: 2 pints boiling water; 1 tablespoon vinegar; ¼ teaspoon salt; 6 eggs; 6 slices of ham; 1 tablespoon curry paste; 1 tablespoon chutney; ¼ cup brown sauce; plain boiled rice

Why it works: Egg and ham are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,526 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Poached Eggs and Broiled Ham a L’lndienne

Ingredients

Directions

Poach the eggs

In a sauté pan, bring 2 pints of water to a boil.
Add vinegar and salt to the boiling water.
Crack each egg into a small saucer, then gently slide them into the boiling water.
Cook the eggs until done, then lift them out with a thin slice onto a sieve.

Prepare the ham

Fry the ham slices until cooked.

Assemble and serve

On a serving dish, alternate placing a slice of ham and a poached egg.
Pour curry sauce into the center of the dish and add a little boiled rice.
Heat on a hot plate for a couple of minutes before serving.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Egg + hamtop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,526 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ham + ricetop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together477 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
Sauce + ricetop 20% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,396 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ham + saucetop 22% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,314 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Vinegar + hamtop 22% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together737 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-methylbutanol (malty, whiskey).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Set into soft, tender structure when poached, forming the main body of the dish.
Vinegar: Helps the egg whites coagulate quickly, keeping the poached eggs compact.
Ham: Adds savory, salty flavor and browning from frying.
Curry paste: Provides spice and aroma that flavor the sauce.
Brown sauce: Adds savory depth and moisture to the curry sauce.

The step that matters

Cook the eggs until done, then lift them out. Eggs poached in water that is not kept at a gentle simmer can tear or spread, since vigorous boiling breaks up the delicate whites. Lifting them carefully with a slice and draining on a sieve keeps the eggs intact and removes excess water.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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Poached Eggs and Broiled Ham a L’lndienne