Name: Chopped Ham Sandwiches with Lettuce and Mayonnaise Dressing
Ingredients: Chopped ham; Lettuce; Mayonnaise; Bread

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 ↓

Chopped Ham Sandwiches with Lettuce and Mayonnaise Dressing

Ingredients

Chopped ham
Lettuce
Mayonnaise
Bread

Directions

Spread mayonnaise on slices of bread.
Layer chopped ham and lettuce on one slice.
Top with another slice of bread.
Cut into desired shapes 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.

Ham + breadtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,536 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
Lettuce + breadtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together602 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Ham + lettucetop 25% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together276 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

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

What each ingredient does

Mayonnaise: Adds fat and moisture, keeping the bread from drying out and the filling cohesive.
Chopped ham: Provides savory, salty flavor and substance as the main filling.
Lettuce: Adds crisp texture and freshness that contrasts with the soft bread and meat.
Bread: Forms the structure that holds the filling together and gives the sandwich its body.