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 ↓
Eggs and Omelets
Ingredients
Directions
Make the spinach eggs
Make a thick puree of spinach.
Take some hard-boiled eggs, cut them in halves while hot, after removing the shells.
Press each half a little way into the puree, so that the yellow yolk will be shown surrounded by the white ring.
Be very careful not to smear the edge with the spinach.
Make the turnip-top and asparagus eggs
Proceed exactly as above, using a puree of turnip-tops instead of spinach.
Have ready some of the green parts of asparagus, boiled tender, and cut up into little pieces an eighth of an inch long so that they look like peas.
Beat up four eggs very thoroughly with some pepper and salt, and mix in the asparagus, only do not break the pieces of green.
Melt a couple of ounces of butter in a small stew-pan, and as soon as it commences to froth pour in the beaten-up egg and asparagus; stir the mixture quickly over the fire, being careful to scrape the bottom of the saucepan.
As soon as the mixture thickens pour it on some hot toast, and serve.
Make the celery and buttered egg toast
Have ready some stewed celery on toast. (See Celery, Stewed.)
Poach some eggs and place them on the top. Hard-boiled eggs, cut into slices, can be added to the celery instead of poached eggs.
Beat up a couple of eggs, melt an ounce of butter in a saucepan, and add to it a little pepper and salt.
As soon as the butter begins to froth, add the beaten-up egg and stir the mixture very quickly, and the moment it begins to thicken pour it over a slice of hot buttered toast.
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.
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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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
- Coagulate when heated to set the omelet into a soft, tender structure.
- Butter
- Adds richness and flavor and helps keep the beaten egg from sticking.
- Spinach (in the method)
- Forms a green puree that gives color and a mild vegetable flavor to the eggs.
- Asparagus (in the method)
- Adds green color, tender texture and a mild vegetable flavor to the scrambled eggs.
The step that matters
Stirring the eggs over heat as they thicken. Eggs set quickly once they start to thicken. Stirring constantly and scraping the pan keeps curds small and soft, while letting them sit leads to overcooked, rubbery bits.
“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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