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Breakfast

Broiled Ham and Eggs

A simple breakfast of broiled ham slices topped with boiled eggs, seasoned with butter and coarse black pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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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 ↓

Broiled Ham and Eggs

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the ham

  1. Remove the rind from the ham slices.

  2. Wash the ham slices in cold water.

Broil and season

  1. Place the ham slices on a grill over hot coals.

  2. Turn the ham slices quickly until broiled.

  3. Transfer the ham to a warmed platter.

  4. Butter the ham.

  5. Pepper the ham.

Poach and serve

  1. Break eggs into boiling water.

  2. Remove each egg carefully to keep it whole.

  3. Place each egg on a slice of ham.

  4. Sprinkle pepper over each egg.

  5. Serve.

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. Ham + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,526 recipes

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

  3. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Butter + peppertop 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 into soft, cohesive pieces when poached, forming the main body of the dish.
Butter
Adds richness and moisture to the ham on the platter.
Thinly sliced ham
Provides savory flavor and a browned surface from broiling, and serves as the base for the eggs.

The step that matters

Remove each egg carefully to keep it whole. Egg white begins to coagulate as soon as it meets hot water, so lifting it out too late or too roughly tears the delicate white and breaks the yolk. Gentle timing and a slotted spoon keep the egg intact.

“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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