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Ham Omelette

A quick omelette made with eggs, ham, pepper, salt, and butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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Why it works: Ham and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,475 recipes. Both carry trans-2-decenal, which smells waxy, orange. The science ↓

Ham Omelette

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. Beat the eggs well in a bowl.

  2. Add the chopped ham, pepper, and salt to the eggs.

Cook and serve

  1. Heat a pan and add enough butter to coat the bottom.

  2. Pour the egg mixture into the hot pan.

  3. Cook until set, then fold the omelette in half.

  4. 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. Ham + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,475 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  2. Egg + hamtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,526 recipes

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

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

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

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

  5. Ham + peppertop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,058 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

Eggs
Set when heated to form the omelette's structure and body.
Ham
Adds savory flavor and substance to the omelette.
Butter
Coats the pan to prevent sticking and adds richness and browning.

The step that matters

Pour the egg mixture into the hot pan and cook until set. If the pan is not hot enough, the eggs cook slowly and turn tough or rubbery. Cooking over moderate heat until just set keeps the omelette tender and prevents browning or overcooking.

“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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