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Ham Ramakins

A baked ham and egg dish served in ramekins.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 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

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare the filling

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

  2. In a bowl, beat the whole eggs and egg yolks slightly.

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

  4. Butter eight ramekin dishes and fill them three-quarters full with the mixture.

Bake and top

  1. Bake until set, about 20 minutes.

  2. Meanwhile, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks and season with a little salt.

  3. Pile the beaten egg whites on top of the mixture in the ramekins.

  4. Sprinkle with pepper and return to the oven.

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

  6. 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. Ham + creamtop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,370 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  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
Whole eggs and yolks set the custard-like filling so it holds its shape when baked.
Egg whites
Whipped to stiff peaks, they form a light topping that puffs and browns in the oven.
Chopped ham
Supplies the savory meat flavor and bulk of the filling.
Cream
Adds richness and moisture, keeping the set filling tender.

The step that matters

Piling and baking the egg white topping. Egg whites must be beaten to stiff peaks so they hold their shape. Underbeaten whites deflate and turn flat and dense, while overbaking can dry them out.

Swap the mustard

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

  1. Spinachfits about as well
  2. Asparagusfits about as well
  3. Capsicumfits about as well
  4. Mustardthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against ham, cream, pepper, 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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