Why it works: Ham and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,526 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Ham and Eggs
Ingredients
Directions
Heat a steel spider or skillet until very hot.
Add the ham and sear it, turning until the fat is golden brown.
Remove the ham from the heat and cut it into six small pieces, arranging them on a platter.
Crack the eggs into the rendered fat, ensuring it is not too hot to bubble.
Spoon the fat over the eggs until a white film forms on the yolks.
Transfer the eggs onto the slices of ham.
Serve immediately, garnished with cress and lemon slices.
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.
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Ham + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,526 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Ham + lemontop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,788 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Egg and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 44,316 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
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