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 ↓
Ham and Eggs
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the ham
Fry the ham in an iron skillet, covered with a perforated lid.
Once the ham is well done, transfer it to a platter.
Cook the eggs and serve
Crack the desired number of eggs into the skillet.
When the egg whites are partly cooked, add a little water, cover, and steam like bacon.
Garnish with parsley 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 + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,526 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Egg + parsleytop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,765 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Ham + parsleytop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,249 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
- Provides savory flavor and fat, which browns in the skillet and seasons the pan for the eggs.
- Eggs
- Set into a firm white and a softer yolk when heated, forming the main body of the dish.
The step that matters
Steaming the eggs once the whites are partly set. Adding water and covering the pan traps steam that cooks the top of the whites and yolks gently. Adding it too early or too late can leave the whites runny or the yolks overcooked and rubbery.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, egg):
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Capersfits about as well
- Parsleythe original
- White pepperfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against ham, egg. 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.
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