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Broiled Ham

Broiled ham prepared by simmering in water, seasoning with pepper, butter, and vinegar, then broiling until crisp.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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Broiled Ham

Why it works: Pepper and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,814 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Broiled Ham

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the ham

  1. Cut the ham into thin slices and trim the edges.

  2. Place the slices in a saucepan and cover with water.

  3. Heat the water gradually without boiling for about 10 minutes.

  4. Taste the ham; if too salty, pour off the water and add fresh water, then heat again.

Broil and serve

  1. Dry the ham with a cloth and broil over a clear fire.

  2. Serve on a platter and dress with pepper and small bits of butter.

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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. Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,814 recipes

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

  2. Ham + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,475 recipes

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

  3. Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  4. Ham + vinegartop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together737 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-methylbutanol (malty, whiskey).

  5. Ham + peppertop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,058 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

Ham
Is the main food; slicing thinly lets it cook evenly and gives a tender bite.
Butter
Adds richness and moisture to the finished slices as it melts over the hot ham.
Vinegar
Listed in the ingredients but not used in any step, so its role here is not stated.

The step that matters

Heating the ham in water without boiling. Gentle heating draws out excess salt and softens the meat, while a rolling boil would toughen the fibres and make the slices tough and dry.

“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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