Why it works: Ham and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 33% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,084 recipes. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓
Westphalia Hams
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare and salt
Shape the hams long and narrow, pointed at the end, and press them under a board to flatten.
After four days, rub the hams with coarse sea salt, focusing on the hip-bone and knuckle joints.
After a day and night, brush off the salt and dry the hams with a coarse cloth.
Rub 1 oz of saltpetre into each ham and let it sit for 24 hours.
Heat ½ cup of coarse sugar in a pan without melting it, then rub it into the hams along with 1 lb of coarse sea salt.
Cure in brine
Let the hams sit until a brine forms, turning and basting them daily for three weeks.
After three weeks, remove the hams from the brine and immerse them in cold spring water for 24 hours.
Finish and smoke
Let them drip, wipe them with a cloth, and rub coagulated hog's blood all over.
Smoke the hams for one week, ensuring they are well smothered.
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 + sugartop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,084 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
- The main cut, which is shaped, cured and smoked into the finished ham.
- Saltpetre
- Curing agent that preserves the meat and helps it keep a pink colour.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws out moisture and seasons the meat, helping preserve it during curing.
- Coarse sugar
- Balances the salt and adds a mild sweetness to the cure.
- Bay leaves
- Adds a subtle aromatic flavour to the finished ham.
The step that matters
Turning and basting the hams in the brine daily. Salt and curing agents must penetrate evenly through the meat. Regular turning keeps every surface in contact with the brine, so the cure reaches the centre and no area is left under-cured.
“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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