Name: Omelette Aux Asperges {Asparagus Omelet}
Ingredients: 25-30 heads of green asparagus; salt; butter; stock or white sauce; pepper; 6-7 eggs; 1 tablespoon milk or cream; salt and pepper to taste; 1.5 oz butter

Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓

Omelette Aux Asperges {Asparagus Omelet}

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the asparagus

Cut the soft portion of the asparagus into 1/2-inch lengths.
Blanch the asparagus and cook in salted water until tender.
Drain the asparagus, toss in butter, add stock or white sauce, and season with pepper.

Make the omelet

Beat the eggs with milk or cream, and season with salt and pepper.
Melt butter in an omelet pan, pour in the egg mixture, and stir until it begins to set.
Place the prepared asparagus in the center, fold the omelet, let it brown, and serve on a hot dish.

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.

Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Asparagus + peppertop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,968 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together15,338 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Asparagus + milktop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together650 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Asparagus + eggtop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,338 recipes

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

Butter and sauce barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Green asparagus: Provides the main filling and a tender, slightly crisp vegetable texture.
Eggs: Set when heated to form the structure of the omelet around the filling.
Butter: Adds richness and helps the eggs cook without sticking in the pan.
Milk or cream: Adds moisture and softness, making the eggs more tender when set.
Stock or white sauce: Adds moisture and savoriness to the asparagus filling.

The step that matters

Stirring the egg mixture until it begins to set. Stirring while the eggs set creates small, soft curds. Over-cooking makes the eggs tough and dry, so the omelet should be folded while still slightly moist.

Swap the asparagus

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

Capsicumfits better
Potatofits about as well
Asparagusthe original
Tomatofits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sauce, pepper, egg, milk. 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.

Asparagus Soup179 recipes

Asparagus Salad77 recipes

Cream of Asparagus38 recipes

Boiled Asparagus27 recipes

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Omelette Aux Asperges {Asparagus Omelet}