Name: Sandwiches a LA Victoria
Ingredients: hard-boiled eggs; small cress; filleted Gorgona anchovies; brown bread; butter; parsley

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 ↓

Sandwiches a LA Victoria

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Slice hard-boiled eggs thinly.
Wash and drain small cress.
Cut brown bread into slices about ⅛ inch thick and butter them.

Assemble and serve

Layer slices of hard-boiled eggs, anchovy fillets, and cress between two slices of bread.
Press the sandwiches together, cut into oblongs or squares.
Place on a folded napkin or dish paper, garnish with parsley, 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.

Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together22,662 recipes

Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together28,563 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Bread + parsleytop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,588 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together118,967 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

What each ingredient does

Hard-boiled eggs: Provide the main filling, adding soft, rich texture and body to the sandwich.
Filleted gorgona anchovies: Add a salty, savoury flavour that contrasts with the mild eggs.
Brown bread: Gives the structure that holds the layered filling together.
Butter: Coats the bread slices, adding richness and creating a moisture barrier against the filling.
Small cress: Adds a fresh, peppery crispness that lightens the rich filling.