Why it works: Ham and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 33% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,516 recipes. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓
Deviled Ham
Ingredients
Directions
Make the ham mixture
Combine the chopped ham, flour, and boiling water in a bowl and mix until well combined.
Press the mixture into a mold.
Set and serve
Refrigerate until set, then cut into slices.
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.
-
Ham + flourtop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,516 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
- Boiled ham
- Provides the main body and savory flavor, with its fat adding richness and moisture.
- Flour
- Binds the chopped ham so the mixture holds together when pressed and sliced.
- Boiling water
- Moistens the mixture and helps the flour swell, so the ham turns into a cohesive spread.
The step that matters
Pressing the mixture into the mold. Packing the mixture firmly removes air pockets so it sets as a dense, cohesive block that slices cleanly instead of crumbling.
“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.
More deviled ham recipes
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.