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 ↓
Fried Eggs with Minced Ham or Bacon
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the meat
Cut the ham or bacon into very thin slices, then into small squares.
Cook and serve
Heat a clean frying pan over low heat and add the ham or bacon.
Cook until the meat is transparent and some fat has rendered.
If there isn't enough fat, add a little more.
When it starts to boil, carefully break in the eggs.
Cook until the eggs are set and the ham or bacon is nicely adhered.
Serve on a fish drainer or on toast without butter.
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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ham or bacon
- Supplies fat that renders into the pan, adding savoury flavour and helping the eggs cook without sticking.
- Eggs
- Set when heated to form the main body of the dish, binding the meat pieces together.
The step that matters
Breaking the eggs in once the fat starts to boil. Adding eggs to very hot fat can make the whites spread unevenly and turn crisp or brown at the edges before the centres set. Adding them carefully keeps the texture gentle and the yolks 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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