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Ham and Egg on Toast

A toasted bread topped with ham and a lightly cooked egg mixture.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Hatfield (Mass.). Congregational Church · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and butter 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 ↓

Ham and Egg on Toast

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the toast and ham

  1. Chop fine pieces of cold boiled ham.

  2. Toast and butter slices of bread.

  3. Spread the ham on the bread.

  4. Place the bread in oven for about three minutes.

Make the egg mixture

  1. Beat six eggs (less will do) with half cup milk, little pepper and salt.

  2. Put the egg mixture in a sauce pan with two tablespoons of butter.

  3. Stir over fire until it begins to thicken.

  4. Take off the pan and beat for a minute.

Assemble

  1. Spread the egg mixture on the toast and ham.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

329Calories
14 gProtein
25 gFat
13 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Hatfield (Mass.). Congregational Church. 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. 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.

  1. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  2. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  3. Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked 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 a soft, custard-like layer that binds the topping together when heated.
Milk
Adds moisture, keeping the eggs tender and softer when they set.
Butter
Adds fat and richness, and helps keep the egg mixture from sticking to the pan.
Ham (in the method)
Provides the savory, salty flavor and chewy texture of the topping.

The step that matters

Stir gently over heat and pull the pan off early. Egg proteins set when heated and turn grainy or curdled if overcooked. Removing the pan as soon as the mixture begins to thicken lets residual heat finish it gently, keeping it creamy.

“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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