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Fig-pecan Sandwiches

A sandwich made with a mixture of figs, dates, pecans, and almonds pressed into buttered bread.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Fig and dates work together. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 318 recipes. Both carry 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, which smells clove, smoky. The science ↓

Fig-pecan Sandwiches

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. Run the figs, dates, pecans, and almonds through a meat chopper and mix thoroughly.

  2. Pack the mixture into round baking powder tins and press down firmly.

  3. Let stand overnight.

Serve

  1. When ready to use, dip the tin in hot water and loosen the contents with a knife.

  2. Cut into very thin slices and place between rounds of buttered bread.

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. Fig + datestop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together318 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).

  2. Fig + almondtop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together519 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  3. Nuts + almondtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together394 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).

  4. Dates + almondtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together217 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Fig + breadtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together374 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Turkish figs
Provide the main sweetness and a dense, sticky body that holds the filling together.
Golden dates
Add sweetness and moisture, helping the mixture bind into a firm loaf.
Pecan nuts
Contribute fat and a crunchy texture that contrasts with the soft fruit.
Shelled jordan almonds
Add firm texture and nutty flavour, giving the filling body and bite.

The step that matters

Press the mixture down firmly into the tins. Firm packing removes air pockets and binds the chopped fruit and nuts into one dense mass, so the loaf holds its shape and slices cleanly into thin pieces.

Swap the nuts

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fig, dates, almond, bread):

  1. Walnutfits better
  2. Pistachiofits better
  3. Pecansfits better
  4. Nutsthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against fig, dates, almond, 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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