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Ham, Potted

A ham and fat mixture baked into a smooth paste, topped with melted butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Ham and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,475 recipes. Both carry trans-2-decenal, which smells waxy, orange. The science ↓

Ham, Potted

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Pound the ham and fat (or butter) to a smooth paste.

  2. Mix in the powdered mace and cayenne.

Bake and set

  1. Press the mixture into a dish.

  2. Bake gently.

  3. Once cooled, pour melted butter over the top.

Store and serve

  1. Store in a cool place.

  2. Serve for breakfast, lunch, or in sandwiches.

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.

  1. Ham + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,475 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  2. Butter + macetop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together11,405 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  3. Ham + macetop 26% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,050 recipes

Butter and mace barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,405 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Lean ham
Provides the main meaty body and savoury flavour of the spread.
Fat or fresh butter
Adds richness and a smooth, spreadable texture to the pounded ham.
Powdered mace
Contributes a warm, aromatic flavour that suits cured meat.
Melted butter
Forms a fat layer on top that helps seal and protect the surface.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, butter):

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Capersfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against ham, butter. 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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