Why it works: Eggplant and egg work together. They rank in the top 30% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 515 recipes. Both carry 2-methylbutyraldehyde, which smells malty, chocolate. The science ↓
Fried Egg Plant
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the eggplant
Peel and slice the eggplant into ½-inch thick slices.
Sprinkle a little coarse sea salt on each slice and press down for 1 hour.
Rinse the slices in clear water and dry them well with a towel.
Coat and fry
Dip each slice in beaten egg, then coat with crumbled crackers.
Fry in hot oil until golden brown.
Season further if needed.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Eggplant + eggtop 30% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together515 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggplant
- Its spongy flesh turns tender inside and soaks up oil as the outside browns.
- Egg
- Acts as a glue so the cracker crumbs stick to each slice.
- Crackers
- Crumbs form a crisp, golden coating when fried.
The step that matters
Drying the slices well. Surface water left after rinsing keeps the egg and crumbs from sticking and can make hot oil spatter. Patting the slices dry helps the coating adhere and fry to an even golden crust.
“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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