Why it works: Ham and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,536 recipes. Both carry 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which smells popcorn, roasted. The science ↓
Sandwich Filling
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Chop the ham, veal, chicken, and sardines exceedingly fine.
In a bowl, mix the chopped ingredients with the egg whites and enough dressing to create a paste the consistency of butter.
Assemble
Spread the mixture on thin slices of bread.
Cut the bread into irregular shapes.
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.
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Ham + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,536 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
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Veal + chickentop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,243 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-butanedione (buttery, creamy).
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Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Ham + chickentop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,497 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Chicken + breadtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,258 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ham
- Adds savory meaty flavor and body to the filling.
- Veal
- Contributes mild meaty flavor and a tender, spreadable texture.
- Chicken
- Adds savory flavor and bulk to the paste.
- Sardines
- Contributes a strong savory, fishy flavor and richness.
- Egg whites
- Help bind the chopped meats into a cohesive paste.
The step that matters
Chopping the meats exceedingly fine. Fine chopping gives the mixture a smooth, spreadable paste rather than chunks that tear the bread. Finely broken-down protein also binds more evenly with the egg whites and dressing, so the filling holds together.
“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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