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Glazed Ham

A ham coated in a cracker paste and baked until browned.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓

Glazed Ham

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

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

  1. Wash the ham and soak it in cold water overnight.

  2. Boil the ham for about 18 minutes per pound in plenty of water, starting cold and bringing it gradually to a boil. Skim the surface occasionally.

  3. Let the ham cool in the boiling water if time allows. It's best to boil it the day before serving.

  4. Remove the ham from the water and carefully take off the skin. Return the skin to the pot to make dripping.

  5. Press soft paper on the ham to remove excess grease.

  6. Brush the ham all over with the beaten egg.

Glaze and bake

  1. Mix the rolled crackers with warm milk, butter, pepper, salt, and a beaten egg to form a paste.

  2. Coat the ham thickly with the cracker paste and place it in a 350°F (175°C) oven to brown.

Garnish

  1. Twist frilled paper around the knuckle and garnish with cresses.

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. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

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

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

  3. Ham + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,526 recipes

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

  4. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Corned ham
Cured meat that stays firm and moist through long, gentle boiling.
Rolled crackers
Crumbs that form the thick glaze and brown into a crisp crust in the oven.
Warm milk
Moistens the crumbs so they form a spreadable paste that clings to the ham.
Butter
Adds fat that helps the crust brown and gives a richer flavour.
Beaten egg
Binds the cracker paste and gives the surface a glossy, browned finish.

The step that matters

Start the ham in cold water and heat it gradually. Bringing the ham up to a boil slowly helps it cook evenly and keeps the meat from toughening or splitting at the surface. Skimming removes foam that can cloud the cooking liquid.

“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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