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Curing Hams

Contains saltpetre, which should be used with caution.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Sugar and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,225 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Curing Hams

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine salt, saltpetre, brown sugar, saleratus, and water in a large pot.

  2. Bring the mixture to a boil, skimming off any impurities just before it boils.

  3. Let the pickle cool completely.

  4. Pour the cooled pickle over the meat until it is fully submerged.

  5. Pack the meat in clean, tight containers and let it cure for 6 to 7 weeks.

  6. After curing, the meat is ready to be smoked.

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. Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

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