Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Friar's Omelet
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the apples
Peel, quarter, and stew the apples with just enough boiling water to prevent scorching.
Once cooked and still hot, press the apples through a colander.
Stir in 1 teaspoon of butter and the sugar, then set aside to cool.
Prepare the crumbs and mold
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a frying pan and stir in the bread crumbs until absorbed and golden‑brown.
Butter a pudding mold and sprinkle the bottom and sides with the bread crumbs.
Assemble and bake
Beat the eggs until light, then stir them into the apple sauce and add lemon juice to taste. Mix well and fill the mold with the mixture, being careful not to rub off the crumbs.
Sprinkle the top thickly with bread crumbs.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C).
Serve
Loosen the edges with a knife and turn out carefully onto a flat dish.
Serve hot with Rum or Brandy Sauce in a sauceboat.
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.
-
Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Apple + breadtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,790 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Apple + lemontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,551 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Apple + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,706 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Apples
- Provide the bulk and moist, tender body of the pudding, along with fruity flavor.
- Eggs
- Bind the apple mixture and help it set firm as it bakes.
- Bread crumbs
- Add body to the pudding and brown into a crisp, golden crust on top and sides.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps balance the tartness of the apples.
- Butter
- Adds richness and flavor, and helps the crumbs brown.
The step that matters
Beating the eggs and folding them into the apple sauce. The apple sauce should be cool enough that it does not scramble the eggs, and the eggs must be beaten light so the mixture sets into a tender custard-like pudding rather than a dense one.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, bread, egg, lemon):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Raspberryfits about as well
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, bread, egg, lemon. 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.
You might also like
Brown Bread461 recipes
Lemon Sauce236 recipes
White Bread80 recipes
Bread Omelette60 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.