Why it works: Ham and egg 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 ↓
Fried Ham and Eggs
Ingredients
Directions
Cut the rind off the ham slices and fry them in a hot pan until crisp, about 3 minutes.
Transfer the ham to a hot platter.
Rinse out the pan and return the grease to fry the eggs.
Break each egg into a saucer to check for bad eggs, then gently slide them into the frying pan.
Do not turn the eggs; instead, spoon hot grease over them until cooked, about 3 minutes.
Ensure the egg whites remain transparent so the yolks are visible.
Remove the eggs with a spatula, trim any discolored edges, and place one on each slice of ham.
Serve hot.
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.
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Ham + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,526 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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