Name: Ham Sandwiches, Plain
Ingredients: thin slices of cold, boiled ham; mustard; buttered 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 ↓

Ham Sandwiches, Plain

Ingredients

thin slices of cold, boiled ham
mustard
buttered bread

Directions

Trim the crusts from the bread.
Spread a little mustard on the bread.
Layer the thin slices of cold, boiled ham on top.
Top with another slice 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.

Ham + breadtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,536 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
Ham + mustardtop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together747 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
Mustard + breadtop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,484 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Cold boiled ham: Provides the savoury filling and most of the flavour of the sandwich.
Mustard: Adds sharp, tangy flavour that cuts through the richness of the ham and butter.
Buttered bread: Forms the structure and adds fat and a soft, moist texture to the sandwich.