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Croutes of Ham

A baked ham and cheese mixture served on gluten croutons.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and cheese are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,962 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Croutes of Ham

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

  2. Melt the butter in a saucepan.

Make the topping

  1. Beat the egg well, then add the cheese and chopped ham.

  2. Stir the mixture into the melted butter and cook until it binds.

Serve

  1. Pile the mixture onto the gluten croutons and serve immediately.

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. Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,962 recipes

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

  2. Ham + cheesetop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together303 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

  3. Butter + hamtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,475 recipes

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

  4. Cheese + biscuittop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together252 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

  5. Egg + hamtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,526 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Egg
Binds the cheese and ham together so the mixture holds its shape when cooked.
Butter
Adds richness and moisture, helping the mixture cook smoothly and carry flavour.
Grated cheese
Melts and sets into the mixture, adding savoury flavour and body.
Cooked ham
Supplies the main savoury flavour and a chewy texture.

The step that matters

Cook until it binds. Stirring the egg mixture into the melted butter over heat sets the egg proteins. If it is undercooked it stays runny and will not hold on the croutons; if overcooked it becomes dry and grainy.

“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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