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Fruit Sandwiches

Fruit sandwiches made with dates, figs, raisins, nuts, banana, cream, mint, gelatin, and bread.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Fig and banana match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 104 recipes. Both carry ethyl isobutyrate, which smells fruity, ethereal. The science ↓

Fruit Sandwiches

Ingredients

Directions

Make the fruit filling

  1. Chop equal parts of dates, figs, and raisins and mix with a fork.

  2. Add cream until it forms a spreadable paste.

  3. Spread the mixture between slices of whole wheat bread.

  4. Mix equal parts of chopped nut meats and chopped banana.

  5. Spread between thin slices of brown bread and sprinkle lightly with salt.

Make the mint cream

  1. Heat crushed mint leaves and hot water for 20 minutes, then strain.

  2. Add whipped cream, salt, and pepper to the mint mixture.

  3. Dissolve gelatin in cold water and mix it in.

Set and serve

  1. Cool in a mold, then cut into thin slices.

  2. Serve the slices between the same sized slices of brown 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 + bananatop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together104 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

  2. Dates + figtop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together318 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).

  3. Fig + raisintop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together737 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Fig + wheattop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together70 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Dates + bananatop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together61 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

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

What each ingredient does

Dates, figs, and raisins
Provide sweetness and body to the spread, bound into a paste by the cream.
Cream
Adds moisture and turns the chopped fruit into a spreadable paste.
Chopped nut meats
Add crunch and texture to the filling.
Chopped banana
Adds moisture and mild sweetness to the filling.
Whipped cream
Adds lightness and richness to the mint mixture.
Gelatin
Sets the mint cream so it holds its shape when cooled and sliced.

The step that matters

Dissolve gelatin in cold water and mix it in. Gelatin must be fully dissolved and blended evenly before chilling, or it will set in lumps and the sliced loaf will not hold together.

Swap the raisin

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (dates, fig, cream, wheat, bread, meat, banana):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Coconutfits better
  3. Apricotfits better
  4. Raisinthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against dates, fig, cream, wheat, bread, meat, banana. 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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