Why it works: Vinegar and sugar 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 ↓
Baked Ham
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash and scrape the ham.
Boil the ham in water for about 5 hours, changing the water twice.
Remove the ham, skin it, and trim it neatly.
Glaze and bake
Cover the ham with brown sugar.
Place the ham in a pan with vinegar.
Bake the ham, basting frequently until it is brown.
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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Vinegar + sugartop 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
- Ham
- Is the main cut of meat, cooked through and sliced for serving.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the surface brown during baking.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that gives the ham a tangy flavour in the pan.
The step that matters
Basting frequently while baking. Brushing the ham with the pan liquid keeps the surface moist so it browns evenly instead of drying out. Sugar caramelises as it heats, so regular basting helps it colour without burning.
“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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