Why it works: Pork and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,668 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓
New England Ham
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 160°F (70°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Dry cure the pork trimmings.
Mix in potato flour and enough water to achieve the right consistency.
Chop the mixture finely and stuff it into beef bungs.
Smoke and cook
Smoke for 2 hours at 160°F (70°C).
Cook for 3 hours, starting at 400°F (200°C) and reducing to 160°F (70°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 + potatotop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,668 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
-
Potato + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,355 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Pork + flourtop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,187 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Pork and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,187 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Pork trimmings
- Provide the meat and fat that form the body and juiciness of the ham.
- Potato flour
- Absorbs water and helps bind the mixture so it holds together and stays moist when cooked.
The step that matters
Chop the mixture finely and stuff it into beef bungs. Fine chopping and firm stuffing help the mixture bind into an even, sliceable texture. Gaps or uneven packing can leave air pockets and uneven cooking.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, flour):
- Potatothe original
- Turnipfits about as well
- Shallotfits about as well
- Okrafits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against pork, flour. 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.
You might also like
Potato Croquettes255 recipes
Pork Cake107 recipes
Roast Pork82 recipes
Potato Rolls78 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.