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 Oh Bacon and Eggs
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Cover a wire or tin drainer with thin slices of ham or bacon.
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and cook the ham or bacon for 15 to 20 minutes.
Bake and serve
Break the eggs on top of the meat and return to the oven.
Cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, depending on your taste.
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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ham or bacon
- Renders its fat as it cooks, flavouring the dish and browning the surface.
- Eggs
- Set as they bake, forming a tender, firm white and yolk on top of the meat.
The step that matters
Timing the final bake. Eggs keep cooking from residual heat and their proteins set progressively, so pulling them at the right moment keeps the yolk at the desired firmness rather than overcooked.
“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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