Why it works: Parsley and shallot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,737 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Omelet of Eggs
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Break the eggs into a bowl and add parsley, shallot, anchovy, ham, pepper, and Parmesan cheese. Mix well.
Prepare an iron frying pan by heating it with a bit of fresh butter until it is well coated. Wipe the pan clean and add 2 ounces of fresh butter. Heat until hot.
Cook and serve
Pour the egg mixture into the pan and stir with a wooden spoon until it begins to thicken. Mold the mixture to one side of the pan and let it brown for one minute.
Cover with a lid and turn the omelet onto a dish. Serve hot with strong cullis if desired.
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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Parsley + shallottop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,737 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Parmesan cheese + buttertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,163 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Shallot + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,898 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Anchovy + parmesan cheesetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together165 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set into the structure of the omelet as they cook, holding the filling together.
- Butter
- Coats the pan so the omelet releases cleanly and adds richness and browning.
- Ham
- Adds savoury flavour and body to the egg mixture.
- Parmesan cheese
- Adds savoury, salty flavour and helps the omelet brown at the surface.
The step that matters
Stirring until the eggs just begin to thicken. Eggs set as their proteins coagulate with heat. Stirring while they thicken keeps curds small and tender, while overcooking makes them dry and rubbery.
Swap the shallot
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, parsley, anchovy, ham, pepper, parmesan cheese, butter):
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Spinachfits about as well
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Shallotthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, parsley, anchovy, ham, pepper, parmesan cheese, butter. 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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