Why it works: Ham and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 23% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,089 recipes. Both carry gamma-nonanolactone, which smells coconut, sweet. The science ↓
Ham Yum Yum
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Cover the ham with sweet milk.
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) until the milk is absorbed and the ham is nicely browned, about 30 minutes.
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 + milktop 23% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,089 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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