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 Omelet
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
In a bowl, beat the eggs with salt until well combined.
Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat until melted.
Cook and serve
Pour the egg mixture into the skillet and cook until the edges begin to set.
Sprinkle the chopped ham over the center of the omelet.
When the omelet is mostly set, fold it in half and cook for another minute.
Slide the omelet onto a plate and serve immediately.
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 + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,475 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
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Egg + hamtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,526 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set into a tender structure as they cook, forming the body of the omelet.
- Butter
- Adds richness and helps prevent the eggs from sticking to the skillet.
- Ham
- Adds savoury flavour and salty bite to the filling.
The step that matters
Cooking the eggs until the edges just set. Eggs proteins coagulate with heat. Cooking over medium heat keeps the omelet tender, while overcooking makes it dry and rubbery. Folding while the centre is still mostly set lets residual heat finish it gently.
“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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