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
Directions
Prepare the ham
Remove the meaty side of the ham, shaving off the outside and cutting it into thin slices.
Broil a slice of ham for about 4 minutes over clear coals.
Cook the eggs
Heat 1 teaspoon of clear melted lard in a small frying pan.
Break 3 eggs into a deep dish and pour them into the pan without breaking the yolks.
When nearly done, carefully fold one half of the eggs over the other.
Serve
Serve the broiled ham on a plate with the eggs in the middle.
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
- Eggs
- Set to form the main body of the dish and give it a soft, tender texture when cooked gently.
- Ham
- Provides savory, salty flavour and a firmer, chewy texture once broiled.
- Clear melted lard
- Fat that keeps the eggs from sticking and adds richness to the pan.
The step that matters
Pour the eggs without breaking the yolks. Eggs cook quickly once they hit the hot pan, and a broken yolk spreads and cooks unevenly, so gentle pouring and moderate heat keep the yolks intact and the whites tender.
“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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