Name: Ham and Eggs
Ingredients: slices of ham; eggs; hot fat for frying; parsley for garnish

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

slices of ham
eggs
hot fat for frying
parsley for garnish

Directions

Soak the ham in cold water, then fry it quickly until cooked.
Place the fried ham on a platter.
Carefully drop the eggs into the hot fat from a saucer to avoid breaking them.
Cook the eggs slowly by spooning hot fat over them.
Once cooked, place each egg on a slice of ham.
Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

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.

Ham + eggtop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,526 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Egg + parsleytop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,765 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ham + parsleytop 24% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,249 recipes

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