Why it works: Sugar and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 20,806 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Hams Superior to Westphalia
Ingredients
Directions
Cure the hams
Rub the hams with common salt.
Let the hams drain for 3 days.
Discard the brine.
Mix saltpetre, coarse sugar, and common salt.
Rub the mixture all over the hams.
Place the hams rind-side down in deep pickling pans, covering them well.
Let the hams sit for 3 days.
Pour a bottle of vinegar over the hams.
Turn the hams in the brine daily for 1 month.
Drain the hams.
Smoke and finish
Rub the hams with bran.
Hang the hams high over a wood fire to smoke for 1 month.
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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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Ham + vinegartop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together737 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-methylbutanol (malty, whiskey).
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Ham + sugartop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,084 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Hams
- Provide the meat that is cured, firmed and smoked into the finished ham.
- Common salt
- Draws out moisture and seasons the meat while helping preserve it during curing.
- Saltpetre
- Helps preserve the meat and gives the cured ham its characteristic pink color.
- Coarse sugar
- Balances the saltiness and mellows the flavor of the cure.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity to the brine, adding tang and aiding preservation.
The step that matters
Turn the hams in the brine daily for 1 month. Regular turning keeps every part of the ham in contact with the curing liquid, so the salt and cure penetrate evenly and no area is left under-cured or spoiled.
“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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