Why it works: Lemon and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,037 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Baked Ham
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the ham
Soak the ham overnight in sweet cider or a mixture of sweet cider and cold water.
In the morning, drain, wipe dry, and trim the ham if necessary.
Mix flour and water to make a thick dough, roll it out to ½ inch thickness, and enclose the ham in it. Wet the edges of the dough and press them firmly together.
Bake and glaze
Place the ham in a large dripping pan and bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 4 to 5 hours.
Remove from the oven, break off the dough shell, and trim any ragged portions.
Sprinkle the fat side with 1 cup of fine bread crumbs and ½ cup of soft brown sugar.
Insert cloves in diagonal rows, 1 inch apart, on the ham.
Return the ham to the oven and brown it richly.
Serve
Garnish with lemon and serve on a bed of parsley.
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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Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Clove + parsleytop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,768 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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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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Clove + lemontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,150 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Flour + parsleytop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together16,675 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ham
- Is the main cut that is slowly baked until tender and juicy.
- Flour
- Forms a thick dough shell that encloses the ham and holds in moisture while it bakes.
- Fine bread crumbs
- Form a crisp, browned coating on the fat side of the ham.
- Soft brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the surface brown richly in the oven.
The step that matters
Returning the ham to brown it. Sugar and crumbs can burn quickly at high heat, while too little time leaves the glaze pale. Watch the surface closely so it browns evenly without scorching.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, cider, flour, bread, sugar, clove, parsley):
- Applefits about as well
- Figfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
- Raisinfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against ham, cider, flour, bread, sugar, clove, parsley. 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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