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Deviled Ham

A savory spread made from finely chopped ham, egg yolks, oil or butter, vinegar, mustard, and pepper.

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

Why it works: Mustard and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,067 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Deviled Ham

Ingredients

Directions

  1. In a bowl, combine the chopped ham and egg yolks.

  2. Rub the mixture smooth with olive oil or butter.

  3. Add pepper and mustard to taste.

  4. Mix thoroughly with the ham until it forms a paste.

  5. Stir in the vinegar until well combined.

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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. Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,067 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Olive + mustardtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,950 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  3. Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,430 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Olive + vinegartop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,297 recipes

    Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).

  5. Olive + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together30,263 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

Egg yolks
Emulsify the oil and bind the ham into a smooth, spreadable paste.
Olive oil or butter
Adds fat and richness, giving the spread a smooth, creamy texture.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and cuts the richness of the fat.
Ham
Provides the main savory flavor and the body of the spread.

The step that matters

Rub the mixture smooth with the fat. The yolks and fat must be worked together slowly so they emulsify. If the fat is added too quickly or the mixture is too cold, it can separate and turn greasy instead of forming a smooth, cohesive paste.

Swap the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, egg, olive, pepper, vinegar):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Mustardthe original
  3. Tomatofits about as well
  4. Cucumberfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against ham, egg, olive, pepper, vinegar. 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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