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 ↓
To Boil a Ham
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the ham
Soak the ham in lukewarm water for 24 hours, changing the water frequently if it is very old and hard.
Scrape and trim the ham, removing any bad-looking parts.
Boil
Place the ham in a large pot with plenty of cold water over a slow fire.
Heat gradually; it should not boil for at least 1.5 to 2 hours.
Once boiling, increase the heat and skim the pot carefully.
Simmer gently for 4 to 5 hours, depending on the size.
Glaze and serve
When done, remove the ham, strip off the skin, and reserve it.
Rub the ham with beaten egg and sprinkle with fine bread crumbs.
Brown and crisp the ham in the oven or over a hot dish before serving.
Garnish with fringed writing paper around the shank-bone and bread crumbs on the dish.
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 + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,536 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
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Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Ham + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,526 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 cooked meat, and soaking and simmering make it tender and seasoned throughout.
- Beaten egg
- Binds the bread crumbs to the surface so they stick during browning.
- Fine bread crumbs
- Form a crisp, golden coating when the ham is browned.
The step that matters
Heating gradually and keeping the water below a boil at first. Rapid boiling toughens and can break apart the meat's proteins, while slow heating lets the ham cook gently and stay tender and intact.
“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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