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Canape Madison

A toasted bread topped with ham, mustard, garnish, Parmesan, and buttered crumbs, baked until golden.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Ham and mustard work together. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 747 recipes. Both carry 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which smells popcorn, roasted. The science ↓

Canape Madison

Oven, in the book's wordsA hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

  2. Prepare 6 slices of well-browned toast.

Assemble

  1. Cover each slice with a thin slice of ham.

  2. Spread a little mustard on top.

  3. Add garnishing a la Provencale.

  4. Dust with grated Parmesan cheese.

  5. Strew buttered crumbs over everything.

Bake and serve

  1. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes until well browned.

  2. Serve very hot on a warm dish with a folded napkin.

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

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

  2. Ham + parmesan cheesetop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together144 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).

  3. Mustard + parmesan cheesetop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together545 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Toast
Provides a crisp, sturdy base that holds the topping without going soggy.
Lean cooked ham
Adds savory, meaty flavor as the main topping layer.
Made mustard
Adds sharp, tangy flavor that cuts through the richness of the ham and cheese.
Grated parmesan cheese
Melts and browns in the oven, adding savory flavor and a golden crust.
Buttered crumbs
Add fat and texture, browning to a crisp, golden top.

The step that matters

Bake for 6 to 8 minutes until well browned. The oven must be fully preheated so the cheese and crumbs brown quickly. Over-baking dries the ham and toast and can scorch the crumbs, so watch closely near the end.

Swap the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, parmesan cheese):

  1. Asparagusfits better
  2. Tomatofits about as well
  3. Mustardthe original
  4. Onionfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against ham, parmesan cheese. 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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