Why it works: Ham and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 33% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,516 recipes. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓
Baked Ham
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Soak the ham overnight in enough water to cover it, adding the baking soda.
Make a batter with flour and water and spread it over the ham.
Place sticks in the pan to keep the ham out of the fat.
Bake and serve
If the ham is large, bake for 4 hours; if small, bake for 3 hours.
Once done, scrape off the batter and serve.
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.
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Ham + flourtop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,516 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ham
- Is the main cut being cooked, and its size sets the baking time.
- Baking soda
- Added to the soaking water, it raises the water's alkalinity to help soften the ham.
- Flour
- Mixed with water to form a batter that coats the ham and forms a protective crust.
- Water
- Forms the batter with flour and provides the soaking liquid for the ham.
The step that matters
Keeping the ham out of the fat. Placing sticks in the pan lifts the ham above rendered fat, so it does not sit in and soak up grease while baking.
“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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