Why it works: Molasses and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 34% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,879 recipes. The science ↓
CUlilKG Hams
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cure
Hang the hams for 7 to 10 days in a cool place.
Mix salt, molasses, and saltpetre in a bowl.
Rub the mixture thoroughly into the hams, focusing on the bones.
Let the hams sit for 2 to 3 days.
Brine and dry
Submerge the hams in brine for 3 weeks.
Soak the hams in cold water for 8 hours.
Hang the hams to dry for a week or more.
Smoke
Smoke the hams for 3 to 5 days using corn cobs or apple-tree wood.
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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Molasses + eggtop 34% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,879 recipes
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 while curing.
- Saltpetre
- Helps cure the meat and keeps its pink colour during curing.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness and flavour that balances the salt.
The step that matters
Rubbing the cure in thoroughly. Salt and saltpetre must reach the meat evenly, especially around the bones where it can spoil first. Uneven coverage leaves spots that cure poorly and may spoil.
“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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