Why it works: Vinegar and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 20,806 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Pickle for Hams
Ingredients
Directions
Combine the water and vinegar in a large container.
Add the coarse sea salt and white sugar, stirring until dissolved.
Mix in the saltpetre thoroughly.
Use this brine to pickle hams as desired.
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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Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws water out of the meat and seasons it, helping preserve the ham.
- White sugar
- Balances the salt and adds a mild sweetness to the cured meat.
- Saltpetre
- Helps preserve the meat and gives cured ham its pink colour.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that gives the brine a sharp, tangy flavour.
The step that matters
Mix in the saltpetre thoroughly. Saltpetre is used in a small amount, so it must be fully dissolved and evenly distributed. Uneven mixing leads to patchy curing and colour across the ham.
“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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