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Ham Omelette

A quick omelette with ham, eggs, milk, corn starch, baking powder, and salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and corn are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,955 recipes. Both carry hexanal, which smells green, grassy. The science ↓

Ham Omelette

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Beat the eggs thoroughly in a bowl.

  2. Mix corn starch and baking powder with a little milk to wet it.

  3. Add the milk and chopped ham to the egg mixture.

Cook

  1. Grease a frying pan.

  2. Heat the pan until very hot.

  3. Pour the mixture into the pan.

  4. Reduce the heat slightly.

  5. Cut away from the sides as it cooks.

  6. When set, fold half over with a spatula.

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.

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 + corntop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,955 recipes

    Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).

  2. Egg + hamtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,526 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Egg + milktop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Milk + hamtop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,089 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

  5. Corn + hamtop 26% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together150 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Provide the main structure, setting as they cook into a tender omelette.
Milk
Adds moisture, keeping the omelette soft and tender rather than dry.
Corn starch
Stabilises the egg mixture, helping it stay soft and tender when cooked.
Baking powder
Releases gas when heated, lightening the texture and helping the omelette rise.
Chopped cooked ham
Contributes savoury flavour and salty richness throughout the omelette.

The step that matters

Reduce the heat slightly. Once the mixture hits a very hot pan, the base can scorch before the eggs set through. Lowering the heat lets the centre firm gently, giving an even set without browning or toughness.

“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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