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Ham Timbales

A baked custard of ham, eggs, and cream set in timbale molds.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Bread and ham are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,536 recipes. Both carry 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which smells popcorn, roasted. The science ↓

Ham Timbales

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the custard

  1. Soak the bread crumbs in the cream for 30 minutes.

  2. Add the eggs, ham, milk, mustard, and salt; mix well.

  3. Pour the mixture into well-buttered timbale molds or one large mold.

  4. Decorate the molds with slices of hard-boiled eggs if desired.

Bake and serve

  1. Place the molds in a pan of hot water and cook until the centers are firm.

  2. Serve with a white sauce.

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.

  1. Bread + hamtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,536 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

  2. Bread + milktop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,466 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

  3. Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

  4. Ham + mustardtop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together747 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

  5. Bread + mustardtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,484 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Coagulate when heated, giving the timbales their firm, sliceable set.
Cream
Adds richness and moisture, keeping the custard tender rather than rubbery.
Milk
Thins the egg mixture and adds moisture for a soft, delicate texture.
Bread crumbs
Soak up cream to add body and help keep the custard tender.
Ham
Provides savory flavor and substance throughout the custard.

The step that matters

Place the molds in a pan of hot water and cook until the centers are firm.. Gentle water-bath heat lets the egg proteins set evenly without overcooking. Too much heat makes the custard curdle, weep, or turn spongy, so check that centers are just firm.

Swap the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, cream, egg, ham, milk):

  1. Asparagusfits better
  2. Potatofits better
  3. Leekfits better
  4. Mustardthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against bread, cream, egg, ham, milk. 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.

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