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Stuffed Ham

A ham filled with a breadcrumb and spice mixture, baked until browned.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 14 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,874 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Stuffed 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 the dressing

  1. In a bowl, mix the bread crumbs, butter, spices, sugar, mustard, and beaten eggs.

  2. Moisten the mixture with cream until it reaches a spreadable consistency.

Stuff and bake

  1. While the ham is hot, make a gash in it and fill it with the dressing.

  2. Rub the outside of the ham with egg white, then sprinkle with sugar and grated crackers.

  3. Place the ham in a 400°F (200°C) oven to brown.

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.

  1. Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,874 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  3. Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,686 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,038 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  5. Allspice + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,620 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Bind the dressing and, as egg white, help the coating set and brown.
Bread crumbs
Form the bulk of the dressing and soak up butter and cream for a soft filling.
Butter
Adds fat and richness, keeping the dressing moist and tender.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and helps the sprinkled crust caramelize and brown in the oven.
Mustard
Adds sharp, tangy flavour that balances the sweetness of the ham and dressing.

The step that matters

Stuffing the ham while it is hot. Warm ham lets the gash open and the dressing settle into the cut without tearing. Cold meat is firmer and can crack or resist filling, leaving gaps.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, butter, clove, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, celery):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Winter savoryfits better
  3. Cardamomfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against bread, butter, clove, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, celery. 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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