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To Broil Ham

A method of preparing ham by broiling thin slices after soaking in hot water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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Why it works: Ham and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,475 recipes. Both carry trans-2-decenal, which smells waxy, orange. The science ↓

To Broil Ham

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cut the ham into thin slices.

  2. Soak the slices in hot water for 10 to 15 minutes.

  3. Dry the slices with a cloth.

Broil and finish

  1. Place the slices on a hot grill and broil for a few minutes.

  2. Butter the ham and season with a little pepper.

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

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

  2. Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  3. Ham + peppertop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,058 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Ham
Forms the main body of the dish and browns on the hot grill.
Butter
Adds fat and richness to the surface, improving flavor and helping it brown.

The step that matters

Place the slices on a hot grill and broil for a few minutes.. Thin slices cook quickly, so a few minutes too long dries them out. Drying the slices first helps them brown on the grill rather than steam.

“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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