Name: Boiled Ham
Ingredients: 1 ham; cold water; sugar; bread crumbs; vinegar

Why it works: Ham and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,536 recipes. Both carry 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which smells popcorn, roasted. The science ↓

Boiled Ham

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare

If the ham is very salty, soak it overnight.
Scrub the ham well and trim off the hard black part.

Simmer

Cover the ham with cold water and simmer slowly for 30 minutes per pound.
Remove from heat and let it sit in the water until nearly cold.
Peel off the skin.

Glaze and brown

Sprinkle with sugar and bread crumbs.
Brown in the oven at 400°F (200°C) or bake for 2 hours.
Baste often with vinegar.

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.

Ham + breadtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,536 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,806 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ham + vinegartop 22% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together737 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-methylbutanol (malty, whiskey).
Bread + vinegartop 25% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,672 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Sugar + breadtop 32% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together8,638 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Ham: The main meat, cooked gently in water so it stays moist and tender.
Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps the surface brown in the oven.
Bread crumbs: Form a crisp, browned crust on the outside of the ham.
Vinegar: Adds acidity and a tangy flavor to the basting liquid on the surface.