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Hamidressinq for Sandwiches

A vinaigrette-style dressing made with vinegar, egg yolks, mustard, pepper, and finely chopped ham.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Vinegar and mustard are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,067 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Hamidressinq for Sandwiches

Ingredients

Directions

  1. In a saucepan, combine vinegar, egg yolks, mustard, and pepper.

  2. Stir over medium heat until the mixture thickens.

  3. Add the finely chopped ham, including a little fat if desired.

  4. Let the dressing cool before using.

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. Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,067 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,430 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Mustard + hamtop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together747 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

  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 yolks
Thicken the vinegar mixture as they set with gentle heat, giving the dressing body.
Vinegar
Provides acidity that sharpens the flavor and balances the rich yolks and ham.
Ham
Adds savory, meaty flavor and texture throughout the dressing.
Mustard
Adds sharp, pungent flavor that cuts through the richness of the yolks.

The step that matters

Stir over medium heat until the mixture thickens. Egg yolks thicken as their proteins set with heat, but too much heat or too long can scramble them into lumps. Stirring constantly and keeping the heat moderate keeps the dressing smooth.

Swap the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, egg, pepper, ham):

  1. Capsicumfits about as well
  2. Mustardthe original
  3. Cabbagefits less well
  4. Cucumberfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, egg, pepper, ham. 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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