Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Scrambled Eggs with Olives
Ingredients
Directions
Beat five eggs with one-fourth cup of milk, salt, and pepper.
Heat a food pan over boiling water and add one tablespoonful of butter.
Pour the beaten eggs into the pan.
Stir the eggs occasionally until they are creamy and firm.
Turn off the flame and stir in one cup of diced olives.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Olive | 1 large (4g) | 4 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
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.
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Milk + olivetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,828 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
-
Butter + olivetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,887 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set into soft curds that form the body of the dish.
- Milk
- Adds moisture so the eggs stay creamy rather than dry.
- Butter
- Coats the pan and adds richness to the eggs.
- Olives
- Add salty, briny flavour and a contrasting texture.
The step that matters
Stir the eggs occasionally until creamy and firm. Eggs keep cooking from residual heat, so removing them while still glossy and slightly soft keeps them creamy. Overcooking squeezes out moisture and makes them dry and rubbery.
“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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