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Ham on Toast

A toasted bread topped with a mixture of chopped ham, beaten eggs, and milk.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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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 on Toast

Ingredients

Directions

Make the ham mixture

  1. Combine the chopped ham, beaten eggs, and milk in a pan.

  2. Cook the mixture over low heat until slightly thickened.

Serve on toast

  1. Spread the mixture over buttered toast.

  2. Moisten the toast slightly before serving.

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. Ham + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,526 recipes

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

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

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

  3. Ham + milktop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,089 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Set as they heat, thickening the mixture into a spreadable topping.
Milk
Adds moisture and keeps the egg mixture soft and creamy.
Cooked ham
Supplies the savory flavor and most of the topping's body.

The step that matters

Cook over low heat until slightly thickened. Egg proteins set as they heat. Over high heat they curdle and turn grainy, so gentle heat gives a smooth, lightly thickened mixture.

“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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