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 ↓
Egg Rissoles with Ham
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the ham, salt pork, or bacon into small dice.
Fry the diced meat gently until cooked.
Cook and serve
Break in the eggs and stir once or twice.
Cook until the eggs are sufficiently set.
Serve immediately while hot.
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, salt pork, or bacon
- Supplies fat and savory, salty flavor as it renders into the pan.
- Eggs
- Set when heated to form the soft, cohesive body of the rissole.
The step that matters
Cook until the eggs are sufficiently set. Egg proteins set with heat, so stopping at the right point keeps the eggs tender and moist. Overcooking tightens them and makes them dry and rubbery.
“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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