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Aubergines, Stuffed

A dish of aubergines filled with a mixture of bread crumbs, minced ham, herbs, egg, and topped with butter, baked.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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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 ↓

Aubergines, Stuffed

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

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.

Prepare

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. Cut the aubergines in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and pulp.

Make the filling

  1. In a bowl, mix the scooped pulp with bread crumbs, minced ham, mixed herbs, salt, and pepper.

  2. Blend in the egg until well combined.

Bake and serve

  1. Fill the aubergine halves with the mixture and place small pieces of butter on top.

  2. Bake for 45 minutes.

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. Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Bread + hamtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,536 recipes

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

  3. Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

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

  4. Ham + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,475 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  5. Bread + peppertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,964 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Aubergines
Form the shell that holds the filling while it bakes and softens as it cooks.
Bread crumbs
Absorb moisture and give the filling body so it holds together.
Minced ham
Adds savoury flavour and fat to the filling.
Egg
Binds the filling so it sets into a cohesive mass when baked.
Butter
Adds fat and richness, and browns on top in the oven.

The step that matters

Filling the aubergine halves. The filling should be evenly combined and not too wet, since excess liquid from the pulp or egg can make the filling loose and prevent it from setting firmly while the aubergine cooks through.

“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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