Why it works: Ham and molasses work together. They rank in the top 38% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 55 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
How to Pickle Hams
Ingredients
Directions
Cure the hams
Mix the salt, saltpetre, and molasses thoroughly.
Rub the hams with the mixture and pack them closely.
Cover the hams with the remaining mixture and let them sit for 10 days.
Turn the hams and let them sit for an additional 20 days.
Smoke
Remove the hams and smoke them with corn cobs.
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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Ham + molassestop 38% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together55 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ham
- Is the meat being preserved, and its fat and protein take on the cure and smoke flavour.
- Fine salt
- Draws out moisture and preserves the meat by limiting microbial growth.
- Saltpetre
- Helps the ham keep its pink colour and adds a preserving effect during curing.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness and depth of flavour that balances the salt.
The step that matters
Packing and turning the hams during the long cure. The salt mixture must reach every part of the meat evenly. Packing closely and turning the hams over the 30 days keeps the cure in contact with all surfaces, so no area is left under-salted and vulnerable to spoilage.
“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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