Why it works: Ham and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,536 recipes. Both carry 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which smells popcorn, roasted. The science ↓
To Bake a Ham
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the ham
Boil the ham, then remove it from the water and strip off the skin.
Place the ham in a baking pan and make incisions to the bone.
Bake and glaze
Rub the ham with brown sugar and pour the wine over it.
Baste frequently with the liquid in the pan while baking for about 1 hour.
Remove from the oven and glaze with the egg yolk.
Sprinkle with bread crumbs if desired, then return to the oven until browned.
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 + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,536 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
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Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Ham + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,526 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Wine + breadtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together956 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and caramelizes during baking to form a browned, glossy crust.
- Wine
- Adds acidity and aroma, and its liquid moistens the ham as it bakes.
- Egg yolk
- Brushed on as a glaze, it helps the surface brown and gives a glossy finish.
- Bread crumbs
- Optional topping that adds a crisp, golden surface when returned to the oven.
The step that matters
Basting during baking. Frequent basting spoons the pan liquid over the ham, keeping the surface moist while the sugar caramelizes. Without it, the outer layer can dry out or scorch before the glaze sets.
“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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