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 ↓
To Cure Pork Hams
Ingredients
Directions
Cure the pork
For every 1000 pounds of pork, mix together three quarters bushel of salt, two and a half pounds brown sugar, two and a half pounds saltpetre, and half a gallon of molasses.
Rub the mixture on the hams, then on the shoulders, and then on the middlings.
Keep the pork in salt for four weeks.
Hang and smoke
Hang the pork up.
Smoke the pork occasionally for four or five weeks with green hickory wood.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Molasses | 1 tbsp (20g) | 58 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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.
-
Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Salt
- Draws out moisture and preserves the meat during curing.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the saltiness of the cure.
- Saltpetre
- Helps preserve the meat and gives cured pork its pink color.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, flavor and a darker color to the cure.
The step that matters
Keeping the pork in salt for four weeks. The cure needs time to penetrate evenly through the thick cuts. Removing the pork early can leave the centre under-cured and prone to spoilage.
“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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