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Asparagus Omelet

A savory omelet made with boiled asparagus, eggs, cream, and butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Asparagus Omelet

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Boil or steam the asparagus until tender.

  2. Chop the asparagus very finely.

  3. In a bowl, mix the chopped asparagus with the beaten egg yolks, egg whites, and cream.

Cook

  1. Heat butter in a pan and pour in the mixture.

  2. Cook until set and serve hot.

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. Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Asparagus + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,338 recipes

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

  3. Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Asparagus + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,026 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  5. Asparagus + creamtop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together838 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

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

What each ingredient does

Egg yolks
Egg proteins set on heating, giving the omelet its structure and richness.
Egg whites
Their proteins coagulate when heated, helping the omelet hold together and set.
Cream
Adds moisture and softness, keeping the set eggs tender rather than dry.
Asparagus
Provides the bulk and main flavor, with its moisture blending into the eggs.

The step that matters

Cook until set and serve hot. Egg proteins set as they heat, so cook over moderate heat until just set. Too high heat toughens and browns the eggs, while stopping too early leaves a runny centre.

Swap the asparagus

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, cream, butter):

  1. Leekfits about as well
  2. Potatofits about as well
  3. Asparagusthe original
  4. Chivefits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, cream, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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