Why it works: Butter and ham are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,475 recipes. Both carry trans-2-decenal, which smells waxy, orange. The science ↓
Omelet with Ham
Ingredients
Directions
Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat.
Add the ham and cook for a few moments.
Beat the eggs in a bowl and pour them into the pan.
Cook until the eggs are set, then fold and serve.
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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Butter + hamtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,475 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
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Ham + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,526 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set into a structure when heated, forming the body of the omelet.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat that keeps the eggs from sticking to the pan.
- Ham
- Adds savory, salty flavor and chewy texture to the eggs.
The step that matters
Cook until the eggs are set, then fold and serve. Eggs turn firm as their proteins coagulate with heat. Pulling the omelet off too early leaves it runny and hard to fold, while overcooking makes it dry and rubbery.
“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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