Why it works: Pork and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 37% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,579 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
New England Ham
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cure
Trim fat and gristle from the pork and grade the meat into larger and smaller pieces.
Mix the salt, saltpeter, and sugar thoroughly.
Combine the mixture with the meat using a shovel or by churning in a barrel.
Pack the container
Pack the mixture tightly into a container (tierce) using a maul.
If desired, add 1 gallon of pickle to the mixture.
Fill the container as full as possible and let it sit overnight to settle.
After 10 to 12 days, the meat is ready for use.
Place wax paper at the bottom and top of the container to prevent discoloration.
Finish and smoke
Chop the cured meat coarse before mixing with flour.
If the mixture is too dry, add a little water.
Cut the bungs into about 3 pieces for the required size.
Smoke the meat at 160 to 165°F (71 to 74°C) for about 3 hours, then cook at 195°F (90°C).
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.
-
Pork + sugartop 37% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,579 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Pork trimmings
- Form the main body of the ham, providing protein, fat and the meaty texture.
- Saltpeter
- Helps cure the meat, keeping its pink color and slowing spoilage.
- Sugar
- Adds mild sweetness and softens the sharpness of the salt.
The step that matters
Mixing the cure evenly into the meat. Salt and saltpeter must be spread evenly through the trimmings. Pockets with too much cure can taste harsh and turn grey, while spots with too little may not cure safely or hold their color.
“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.
You might also like
Pork Cake107 recipes
Roast Pork82 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.