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 ↓
Grated Ham
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Grate the cold ham.
Mix the grated ham with the egg yolk and a little cream.
Warm the mixture gently.
Serve
Serve it on buttered toast.
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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Ham + creamtop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,370 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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
- Cold ham
- Provides the savoury meat base and the bulk of the dish.
- Egg yolk
- Binds the grated ham and adds richness and a smooth, thickened texture when warmed.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and richness, keeping the mixture soft rather than dry.
The step that matters
Warm the mixture gently. Egg yolk thickens with gentle heat but can curdle or turn grainy if it gets too hot. Low, slow warming keeps the mixture smooth and creamy.
“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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