Why it works: Bread and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Shirred Egg
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Assemble
Mix the bread crumbs and melted butter in a bowl, stirring lightly with a fork.
Cover the bottom of a baking dish with the crumb mixture.
Break the egg and slip it onto the crumbs.
Sprinkle with salt and cover with more crumbs.
Bake
Bake until the egg white is set.
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.
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.
-
Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg
- Sets with heat to form the main body of the dish.
- Soft bread crumbs
- Form a cushioning base and cover that keeps the egg moist while baking.
- Melted butter
- Coats the crumbs and adds richness and flavor.
The step that matters
Bake until the egg white is set. Egg white sets at a fairly low temperature, and the yolk thickens more slowly than the white. Baking gently until the white is opaque and firm, while the yolk stays soft, avoids a rubbery texture.
“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.
You might also like
Brown Bread461 recipes
White Bread80 recipes
Bread Omelette60 recipes
Oatmeal Bread51 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.