Why it works: Butter and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 118,967 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓
Round the Table
Ingredients
Directions
Fry the eggs
Melt a piece of butter in an omelet pan.
Break two eggs into the pan carefully so as not to break the yolks.
Cook the eggs over the fire until they are nearly set.
When the eggs are nearly set, slide them onto a hot dish.
Pour the remaining butter from the pan over the eggs when serving, or leave it on the fire until it is nearly black, then pour it over the eggs with a drop of tarragon vinegar and a little minced parsley.
Cheese variation
Put a couple of slices of Gruyere cheese with a small piece of butter in the omelet pan.
Break two eggs over the cheese.
Add a very little salt and some pepper.
Cook on a gentle fire until the whites are set.
Serve.
Serve
Serve fried eggs over a puree of spinach, sorrel, endive, or celery, or with tomato sauce, Italian sauce, sauce piquante, sauce Perigueux, etc., ensuring not to use too much puree or sauce.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| 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 + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Egg + peppertop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together50,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Egg and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 50,580 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 a firm, tender structure as they cook, forming the body of the dish.
- Butter
- Fats the pan so the eggs release cleanly and adds rich flavour; browned butter adds nutty aroma.
- Gruyere cheese (in the method)
- Melts and browns against the pan, adding savoury, salty flavour under the eggs.
- Tarragon vinegar (in the method)
- Adds a sharp acidic note that cuts the richness of the browned butter.
The step that matters
Cook the eggs over gentle heat until the whites are just set. High heat sets and toughens egg white quickly and can burn the butter or bottom while the top stays runny. Gentle heat lets the whites set evenly while the yolks stay soft, and sliding the eggs out when nearly set avoids overcooking from residual heat.
“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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