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Ham Toast

Ham toast made by mixing minced ham with egg, cream, cayenne, and butter, then spreading on toast.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Ham Toast

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. Beat the egg.

  2. Mix in the cream, cayenne, and minced ham.

  3. Prepare the toast.

Cook and serve

  1. Heat the butter in a frying pan until hot.

  2. Add the ham mixture and stir continuously until it thickens.

  3. Spread the mixture on the toast and serve.

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. Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

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

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

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

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

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

  4. Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

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

What each ingredient does

Egg
Sets when heated, binding the ham into a thick, spreadable mixture.
Cream
Adds moisture and softness, keeping the mixture creamy rather than dry.
Cooked ham
Provides the savoury main flavour and the bulk of the topping.
Butter
Fat for the pan that adds richness and helps the mixture cook without sticking.

The step that matters

Stir continuously while the mixture thickens. Egg proteins set with heat, and if the mixture sits still over direct heat it can curdle or cook unevenly on the bottom. Constant stirring keeps the egg cooking gently and smooth.

“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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