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Omelet of Eggs, Cream, and Ham

A quick omelet made with eggs, cream, diced ham, salt, and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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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 ↓

Omelet of Eggs, Cream, and Ham

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and cream until well combined.

  2. Stir in the diced ham, salt, and pepper.

  3. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat.

Cook and serve

  1. Pour the egg mixture into the skillet and cook until the edges begin to set.

  2. Gently lift the edges with a spatula, allowing uncooked egg to flow underneath.

  3. Once the omelet is mostly set, fold it in half and cook for another minute.

  4. Serve hot.

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. Egg + hamtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,526 recipes

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

  2. Cream + hamtop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,370 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

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

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

  4. Cream + peppertop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together21,449 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  5. Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together42,166 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Cream and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 21,449 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

Eggs
Set into the structure of the omelette as they cook, holding the filling together.
Cream
Adds moisture and softness, keeping the eggs tender rather than dry and rubbery.
Diced ham
Supplies savory flavor and salt-cured taste to the filling.

The step that matters

Lifting the edges while the eggs set. Egg proteins set as they heat. Lifting the cooked edges lets liquid egg flow underneath to cook, giving an even, tender omelette instead of a thick, rubbery layer.

“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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