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 ↓
Egg Omelet
Ingredients
Directions
Make the first batter
Beat the whites and yolks separately.
Warm the milk until it melts the butter.
Add the melted butter to the yolks.
Make the flour into a paste with a little of the milk.
Add the whites last.
Bake
Either bake in a deep dish or in shallow pans, and double it over after it browns.
Make the bread crumb batter
Soak a teacupful of bread crumbs overnight in a cup of new milk.
Beat separately the yolks and whites of three eggs.
Mix the yolks with the bread crumbs and milk.
Stir in the whites.
Finish
Add salt and cook as usual.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
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).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Whites trap air for lift, while yolks add richness and help set the structure.
- Butter
- Adds fat, which gives a richer flavour and a tender texture.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk mixture into a paste that gives the omelette body.
- Milk
- Adds moisture, so the omelette stays soft rather than dry.
- Bread crumbs (in the method)
- Soak up milk and add body to the batter, giving a softer, lighter crumb.
The step that matters
Add the whites last. Beaten egg whites hold air that gives the omelette its lift. Stirring them in gently at the end keeps that air from being knocked out before it bakes.
“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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