Why it works: Ham and carrot are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,918 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
To Dress Hams
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Soak the ham in water overnight.
Place it in a hole dug in the earth or on damp stones for 2-3 days, covered with a heavy tub.
Wash the ham thoroughly.
Cook
Boil the ham in plenty of water for 4-6 hours, depending on its size.
Cover the ham with a clean doubled cloth.
Keep it hot over boiling water.
Remove the skin.
Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the ham.
Garnish with carrot.
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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Ham + carrottop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,918 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
- Is the main ingredient, providing the meat that is cooked and dressed.
- Breadcrumbs (in the method)
- Coat the surface of the ham, adding a light crumb texture to the finished dish.
The step that matters
Boil the ham in plenty of water for 4-6 hours, depending on its size.. The ham must have enough water to stay fully submerged and cook evenly over the long simmer. Judging the time by the ham's size matters, because a larger ham needs longer to cook through while a smaller one can dry out or overcook.
“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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