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Ham Cakes

A savory dish of ham, breadcrumbs, eggs, and seasonings formed into patties or croquettes and fried or baked.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Ham and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,526 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Ham Cakes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the mixture

  1. Combine chopped ham, breadcrumbs, eggs, pepper, salt, and enough milk in a bowl to form a moist mixture.

Fry or bake

  1. Fry spoonfuls of the mixture on a griddle, turning them like pancakes until golden brown.

  2. Alternatively, replace breadcrumbs with mashed potatoes and fry as above.

  3. For croquettes, form the mixture into small balls, roll each ball in egg and breadcrumbs, then fry in boiling fat.

  4. To bake, place the mixture in a baking dish and smooth the surface.

  5. Make hollows in the mixture, crack an egg into each hollow, and bake until the eggs are set.

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 + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,526 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Egg + milktop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 recipes

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

  3. Pepper + milktop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together26,984 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  4. Ham + milktop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,089 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

  5. Ham + peppertop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,058 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

Eggs
Bind the mixture and set firmly when baked or fried.
Breadcrumbs
Provide body and absorb moisture so the mixture holds its shape.
Chopped ham
Supplies the savoury meat flavour that defines the cakes.
Milk
Adds moisture so the mixture is soft enough to shape and cook through.

The step that matters

Frying the spoonfuls on the griddle. The mixture is soft and wet, so it must be turned gently once set and cooked at a moderate heat. Too hot and the outside browns before the centre cooks; too cool and the cakes absorb fat and spread.

“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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