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Marie Paidar

A casserole of thick-sliced ham with stewed tomatoes, onions, green pepper, bay leaf, mace, cloves, celery salt, sugar, salt, and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Paidar, Marie, Mrs., [from old catalog] comp · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Tomato and celery are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,377 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Marie Paidar

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Slice ham thick.

  2. Chop onion and green pepper.

  3. Combine ham, onion, green pepper, bay leaf, mace, cloves, celery salt, sugar, salt, pepper, and stewed tomatoes.

Bake

  1. Broil or pan-broil ham on both sides.

  2. Place ham in casserole, add seasonings, pepper, and onion.

  3. Add tomatoes.

  4. Cover and bake slowly for two and one-half hours.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

409Calories
31 gProtein
15 gFat
38 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Pork100g cooked242
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Macenot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Paidar, Marie, Mrs., [from old catalog] comp. 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. See the original page.

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. Tomato + celerytop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,377 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Clove + celerytop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,668 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).

  3. Mace + clovetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together8,400 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

  4. Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,518 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,633 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

What each ingredient does

Ham
Forms the main body of the dish and gives it its savory, meaty flavor.
Stewed tomatoes
Provide moisture and acidity that slowly break down during the long, covered bake.
Sugar
Adds sweetness that balances the acidity of the tomatoes and salty ham.
Onion
Adds aromatic sweetness and savory depth as it softens in the liquid.

The step that matters

Cover and bake slowly for two and one-half hours. A low, covered bake lets the ham become tender and the tomato liquid mellow and blend with the spices. Baking too hot or uncovered for too long can toughen the meat and reduce the sauce too much.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, sugar, tomato, onion, clove, tea, celery):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Gingerfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against ham, sugar, tomato, onion, clove, tea, celery. 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.

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