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To Boil a Ham

A cured ham is simmered in water, then browned and garnished with bread crumbs and greens.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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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

  1. Soak the ham in cold water for 12 to 24 hours if it has been cured for a long time.

  2. Place the ham in a large pot and cover it with cold water.

Simmer

  1. Simmer slowly for 2 to 4 hours, depending on the size of the ham.

  2. Skim off the grease that rises to the top frequently.

Finish and serve

  1. Once cooked, remove the skin and sprinkle bread crumbs over the top.

  2. Place the ham in front of the fire to dry and brown.

  3. Garnish with greens or cabbage.

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. Ham + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,536 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

  2. Ham + cabbagetop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together186 recipes

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

  3. Bread + cabbagetop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together380 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

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

What each ingredient does

Cured ham
Provides the main meat, which is seasoned by curing and becomes tender through slow simmering.
Bread crumbs
Form a crisp, browned crust on the surface when the ham is dried by the fire.

The step that matters

Simmer slowly and skim the grease. Gentle simmering keeps the ham tender and prevents the surface from breaking up, while skimming removes rising fat so the broth and meat stay clean-tasting. A hard boil toughens meat proteins and emulsifies fat into the liquid.

Swap the cabbage

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, bread):

  1. Tomatofits better
  2. Mustardfits better
  3. Asparagusfits better
  4. Cabbagethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against ham, bread. 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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