Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Eggs Upon Toast
Ingredients
Directions
Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat.
Add the beaten eggs, pepper, salt, and parsley; stir and toss for three minutes.
Cut the toasted bread into rounds and spread thickly with minced meat.
Heap the scrambled eggs on top of the toast.
Serve in a hot dish garnished with parsley and pickled beets.
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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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Bread + chickentop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,258 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity).
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Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Scramble to a soft, set mass that forms the topping.
- Butter
- Fat that coats the pan and enriches the eggs, keeping them from sticking.
- Bread
- Toasted base that gives a crisp, sturdy support for the eggs.
The step that matters
Stir and toss the eggs for three minutes. Eggs set quickly over heat and turn rubbery or dry if overcooked. Constant stirring keeps curds small and moist, so the eggs stay tender on the toast.
“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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