Name: Sandwiches
Ingredients: Day-old bread (dark breads like graham, rye, or Boston brown bread); Butter; Filling of choice (e.g., sliced meat, cheese, vegetables)

Why it works: Bread and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Sandwiches

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Day-old bread (dark breads like graham, rye, or Boston brown bread)
Butter
Filling of choice (e.g., sliced meat, cheese, vegetables)

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Use day-old dark bread for better flavor.
Cream the butter well before spreading it on the bread.
Cut the bread into thin slices and pair them if not adding filling immediately.
For fancy shapes, cut the bread first, then butter it to avoid waste.
Wrap sandwiches in waxed paper or a damp napkin and keep them cool.
If removing crusts, dry them in a 350°F (175°C) oven for later use.
For rolled sandwiches, remove crusts from fresh white bread and wrap in a damp cloth for several hours.
Cut the loaf into thin lengthwise slices, spread with creamed butter and desired filling, then roll and secure with a toothpick.

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.

Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Bread + cheesetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,130 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,962 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Bread + meattop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,924 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Butter + meattop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,594 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).