Why it works: Chervil and tarragon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 824 recipes mention both. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Des Oeufs
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash and select the herbs, then dry them thoroughly.
Grind the herbs with the ground ginger in a mortar.
Beat the eggs together until well mixed.
Combine the ground herbs with the beaten eggs in the mortar.
Cook and serve
Heat a frying pan with oil or butter until very hot.
Pour the egg mixture into the pan and stir frequently with a spatula.
Sprinkle grated cheese on top while cooking until set.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Chervil + tarragontop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together824 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Chervil + lettucetop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together396 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Sage + marjoramtop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together507 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).
-
Tarragon + fenneltop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together134 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).
-
Marjoram + parsleytop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,979 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set into a soft, tender structure as they cook, binding the herbs together.
- Mixed herbs
- Add fresh, green aroma and flavour to the eggs.
- Grated cheese
- Melts over the eggs and adds richness and savoury flavour.
- Ground ginger
- Adds warm, aromatic spice that complements the herbs.
The step that matters
Stir the egg mixture frequently in a very hot pan. Eggs cooked over high heat can turn rubbery or dry if left still. Frequent stirring keeps curds small and soft while the mixture sets evenly.
Flavor stand-ins for the spinach
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chervil, tarragon, sage, marjoram, fennel, parsley, lettuce):
- Shallotbetter flavor fit
- Chivebetter flavor fit
- Beetrootbetter flavor fit
- Spinachthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chervil, tarragon, sage, marjoram, fennel, parsley, lettuce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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.
You might also like
Macaroni and Cheese102 recipes
Cheese Making50 recipes
Spinach Soup50 recipes
Cheese Fritters34 recipesThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.