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Fried Ham with Eggs

A simple dish of fried ham slices served with eggs cooked in the same pan.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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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 with Eggs

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the ham

  1. Remove the skin from the ham slices.

  2. Fry the ham in a pan over medium heat until browned on both sides.

  3. Place the ham on a dish and remove any brown particles from the pan.

Fry the eggs and serve

  1. Retain some of the fat in the pan and crack the eggs into it.

  2. Fry the eggs until the whites are fully cooked but the yolks remain soft.

  3. Place the fried eggs on top of the ham.

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

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

  2. Ham + peppertop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,058 recipes

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

  3. Egg + peppertop 33% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together50,580 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Egg and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 50,580 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Ham slices
Provides savory flavor and meaty substance, and browns in the pan to add color and taste.
Eggs
Set into a firm white and a soft yolk, forming a rich topping that adds moisture and richness.
Fat from the pan (in the method)
Carries heat evenly and keeps the eggs from sticking while adding richness.

The step that matters

Fry the eggs until the whites are fully cooked but the yolks remain soft. Egg whites set at moderate temperatures while yolks thicken at higher heat and can overcook quickly. Keeping the heat moderate and watching closely lets the whites firm fully without the yolks turning chalky and dry.

“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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