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Ham Cakes

A savory dish of ham, breadcrumbs, eggs, and seasonings fried or baked into cakes or croquettes.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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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 Cakes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the mixture

  1. Combine chopped ham, breadcrumbs, eggs, pepper, salt, and enough milk in a bowl to make a moist mixture.

Cook

  1. Fry spoonfuls of the mixture on a griddle, turning them like pancakes.

  2. Alternatively, use mashed potatoes instead of breadcrumbs and fry as above.

  3. For croquettes, form the mixture into small balls, roll them in egg and breadcrumbs, and fry in boiling fat.

  4. Place the mixture in a baking dish, smooth the surface, and make hollows.

  5. Crack an egg into each hollow and bake until the eggs are set.

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. Ham + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,526 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Egg + milktop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  3. Pepper + milktop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together26,984 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  4. Ham + milktop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,089 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

  5. Ham + peppertop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,058 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
Bind the mixture and set into a firm structure when cooked.
Breadcrumbs
Absorb moisture and give the cakes body and a soft, tender texture.
Ham
Provides the savoury, salty flavour at the centre of the dish.
Milk
Adds moisture so the mixture holds together without becoming dry.

The step that matters

Keep the mixture moist before frying. Breadcrumbs soak up liquid, so too little milk leaves the cakes dry and crumbly, while enough moisture lets the egg bind them evenly as they cook.

“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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