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Potted Ham

A preserved ham mixture packed into jars and covered with clarified butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Potted Ham

Why it works: Allspice and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,331 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Potted Ham

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Mince the cold boiled ham and fat together in a mortar until fine.

  2. Gradually add the mace, cayenne, allspice, and nutmeg, mixing well.

Pot and store

  1. Press the mixture into small jars, filling them to within an inch of the top.

  2. Pour enough clarified butter or drippings over the mixture to fill the remaining space.

  3. Store in a cool place until ready to serve.

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.

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.

  1. Allspice + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,331 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Mace + nutmegtop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,557 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  3. Pepper + allspicetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,395 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together13,015 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  5. Mace + allspicetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

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

What each ingredient does

Cold boiled ham
Forms the main body of the potted meat, giving it its substance and savoury flavour.
Fat (bacon or similar)
Adds richness and moisture, giving the mixture a smooth, spreadable texture.
Clarified butter or drippings
Forms a sealing layer on top that excludes air and helps preserve the potted meat.

The step that matters

Mincing until fine. The meat and fat must be broken down finely so they blend into a smooth, spreadable mixture. Coarse pieces stay separate and give an uneven texture.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, pepper, allspice, nutmeg, butter):

  1. Clovefits better
  2. Cinnamonfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against ham, pepper, allspice, nutmeg, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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