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 with Scalloped Yams
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dish
Peel the yams and cut them into thin round slices.
Reserve enough yams for a top layer.
Layer
Place half the yams in a buttered baking dish.
Cover the yams with half the margarine (cut into tiny bits or melted).
Sprinkle the yams with half the breadcrumbs, onion, salt, pepper, and ham cubes.
Repeat the previous three actions with the remaining yams and ingredients.
Top the dish with the reserved yams.
Brush the top with melted butter.
Sprinkle the top with the remaining breadcrumbs.
Pour milk into the dish until it can be seen between the slices.
Bake and serve
Cover the dish.
Bake at 350°F for 1 hour.
Uncover the dish.
Bake for 15 minutes or until tender and browned.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Pork | 100g cooked | 242 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Yam | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
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.
-
Bread + hamtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,536 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
-
Yam + oniontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together106 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
-
Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Yam + peppertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together111 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Yams
- Form the bulk of the dish, turning soft and tender as they bake through.
- Milk
- Provides liquid that cooks into a creamy sauce around the slices.
- Margarine
- Adds fat that moistens the layers and helps the top brown.
- Bread crumbs
- Form a crisp, golden topping and absorb some of the moisture.
- Ham
- Contributes savoury, salty flavour distributed through the layers.
The step that matters
Pour the milk until it shows between the slices. Too little milk leaves the yams dry and starchy, while the covered baking step needs enough liquid to cook the slices fully and form a sauce.
Swap the yam
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, bread, pepper, onion, ham):
- Potatofits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Tomatofits better
- Yamthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, bread, pepper, onion, ham. 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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