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Ham Ramakins

A baked dish of ham, eggs, milk, herbs, mustard, and beaten egg whites.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Mustard and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,430 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Ham Ramakins

8 ramekin cases

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare the mixture

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. Beat the yolks of the eggs slightly.

  3. Add the ham, milk, herbs, mustard, salt, and pepper. Mix well.

  4. Grease 8 china ramakin cases.

  5. Fill the cases about three-quarters full with the mixture.

Bake and top

  1. Bake in the oven until set, about 30 minutes.

  2. Beat the egg whites to a stiff froth.

  3. Season the beaten egg whites with a little salt.

  4. Pile the beaten egg whites above the level of the cases.

  5. Sprinkle the egg whites with black pepper.

  6. Return the cases to the oven.

  7. Bake until the egg whites are crisp and lightly browned.

  8. 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. Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,430 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Ham + mustardtop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together747 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

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

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

  4. Egg + milktop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 recipes

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

  5. Milk + peppertop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together26,984 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
The yolks bind the ham and milk into a set custard, while the whipped whites form a light, crisp topping.
Lean cooked ham
Provides the savoury meat flavour that forms the body of each ramekin.
Milk
Adds moisture that sets with the eggs into a soft, tender custard.
Powdered mixed herbs
Adds aromatic flavour to the custard.
Made mustard
Adds sharpness that balances the richness of the eggs and ham.

The step that matters

Beat the egg whites to a stiff froth. Whites must be whipped until they hold stiff peaks so the topping stays raised and airy in the oven; underbeaten or deflated whites spread flat and bake dense.

Swap the mustard

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

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Asparagusfits better
  3. Potatofits better
  4. Mustardthe original

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