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 ↓
Broiled Ham
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the ham
Select fresh ham slices and trim the edges.
Place the slices in a saucepan and cover with water.
Heat the water gradually without boiling for 10 minutes.
Taste the ham; if too salty, pour off the water and add fresh water, then heat again.
Dry the ham slices with a cloth.
Broil and serve
Broil the ham over a clear fire until cooked.
Serve on a platter and season with pepper and small bits of butter.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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 + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,475 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
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Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Ham + peppertop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,058 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ham slices
- Provide the main meat, whose salt level is adjusted by the initial heating in water.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness to the served ham as it melts over the hot slices.
The step that matters
Heat the water gradually without boiling. Gentle heating draws out some salt and softens the meat, while boiling would toughen the proteins and make the ham tougher and drier.
“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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