Name: Braised Ham, with Spinach, Etc
Ingredients: 1 ham, well trimmed and thigh bone removed; cold water for soaking; 2 carrots, chopped; 2 onions, chopped

Why it works: Carrot and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 21,601 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Braised Ham, with Spinach, Etc

Ingredients

1 ham, well trimmed and thigh bone removed
cold water for soaking
2 carrots, chopped
2 onions, chopped

Directions

Soak the ham in cold water in a large pan, changing the water often.
Scrape off the slimy surface from the ham before soaking.
Boil the ham for 1 hour, then remove and wash it in cold water.
Place the ham in a braising pan with the chopped carrots and onions.

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.

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.

Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together21,601 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ham + oniontop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together4,159 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Ham + carrottop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,918 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).