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Fig-pecan Sandwiches

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

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 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 all ingredients through a meat chopper and mix thoroughly.

Pack and set

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

  2. Let stand overnight.

Unmold and serve

  1. Dip tins in hot water.

  2. Loosen contents with a knife.

  3. Cut into very thin slices.

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

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  4. Meat + almondtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together486 recipes

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

  5. Fig + meattop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together143 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 sweetness and moisture that help bind the chopped mixture together.
Golden hallawi dates
Add sugar and moisture, creating a sticky paste that holds the slices together.
Pecan meats
Contribute fat and a rich, nutty flavour and texture to the paste.
Shelled jordan almonds
Add crunch and body, giving the filling some texture against the soft fruit.

The step that matters

Pressing firmly and standing overnight. Firm packing removes air pockets so the chopped fruit and nuts form a dense mass. Standing overnight lets moisture from the figs and dates soften and bind it, so the loaf unmolds and slices cleanly.

Swap the dates

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

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Coconutfits better
  3. Cherryfits about as well
  4. Datesthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against fig, meat, almond. 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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