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Southern Boiled Ham

A ham boiled in cider, glazed with brown sugar, molasses, mustard, and bread crumbs, then baked.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Cider and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,431 recipes. Both carry 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol, which smells smoky, clove. The science ↓

Southern Boiled Ham

Oven, in the book's wordsA hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Cook the ham

  1. Wash the ham thoroughly.

  2. Place the ham in a kettle with enough sweet cider to almost cover it.

  3. Cover the kettle tightly.

  4. Cook on low heat for 2 hours without boiling.

  5. After 2 hours, allow it to boil very slowly for 15 minutes per pound.

  6. Remove from heat and let the ham cool in the cider.

  7. Once cool, remove the rind but leave the fat on the ham.

Glaze and bake

  1. Mix the bread crumbs with mustard, brown sugar, molasses, vinegar, and butter.

  2. Spread the mixture over the ham, insert cloves, sprinkle with pepper, and dot with butter.

  3. Place the ham in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) and baste with a cup of cider.

  4. If cider is unavailable, boil the ham in water with 1 cup of vinegar and 2 cups of sugar for each quart of water.

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. Cider + vinegartop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,431 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).

  2. Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Ham + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,536 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

  4. Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,067 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,225 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
Provides the main meat, which is gently cooked so it stays moist and tender.
Sweet cider
Adds moisture and mild sweetness while the ham simmers and bastes.
Brown sugar
Sweetens the glaze and helps it caramelize and brown in the oven.
Molasses
Adds depth, dark color and sweetness to the glaze.
Bread crumbs
Form a crust-like layer on the surface that holds the glaze.
White vinegar
Adds acidity that balances the sweetness of the glaze and cider.

The step that matters

Cook on low heat without boiling. Holding the liquid just below a boil keeps the meat's proteins from tightening and toughening, so the ham stays tender and juicy.

“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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