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Ham Omelet

A quick omelet cooked with diced raw ham and optional boiled ham or bacon.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Ham and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,475 recipes. Both carry trans-2-decenal, which smells waxy, orange. The science ↓

Ham Omelet

Ingredients

Directions

  1. In a skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.

  2. Add the diced raw ham and fry until cooked through.

  3. Beat the eggs in a bowl and pour them over the ham in the skillet.

  4. Cook until the eggs are set, folding the omelet as needed.

  5. If using boiled ham, mix it with the beaten eggs before cooking.

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.

  1. Ham + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,475 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  2. Ham + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,526 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Set into a tender, structured omelet as they cook, holding the filling together.
Raw ham
Provides savory flavor and meaty texture as it fries in the butter.
Butter
Adds richness and helps the ham brown and the eggs cook without sticking.

The step that matters

Cook the eggs until just set. Eggs turn rubbery and dry when overcooked, since the proteins tighten under sustained heat. Removing the pan from direct heat while the top is still slightly glossy keeps the omelet tender.

“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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