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Ham Sandwiches

Ham sandwiches made with finely chopped boiled ham, mustard, oil, egg, salt, pepper, and bread.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Ham and bread 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 Sandwiches

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Chop the boiled ham very finely.

  2. In a bowl, mix the chopped ham with mustard, oil, beaten egg, salt, and pepper.

  3. Cut the bread very thin and spread the ham mixture on it.

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 + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,536 recipes

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

  2. Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,430 recipes

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

  3. Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

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

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

  5. Mustard + breadtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,484 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Boiled ham
Provides the main savory filling and meaty flavor of the spread.
Mustard
Adds sharp, tangy flavor that cuts through the richness of the ham.
Oil
Adds fat and moisture, giving the spread a smoother, softer texture.
Egg
Beaten egg helps bind the chopped ham and oil into a cohesive spread.
Bread
Acts as the base that holds the spread and gives the sandwich its structure.

The step that matters

Cutting the bread very thin. Thin slices are easier to spread evenly without tearing, and an even layer of filling gives each bite a consistent texture and flavor.

Swap the mustard

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

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Asparagusfits better
  3. Mustardthe original
  4. Spinachfits about as well

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