Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Raised Ham Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the ham
Soak the ham for 4 to 5 hours.
Wash and scrape the ham well.
Cut off the knuckle.
Boil the ham for 30 minutes.
Trim the ham neatly.
Remove the rind.
Place the ham in an oval stew pan.
Add the Madeira or Sherry.
Add enough veal stock to cover the ham.
Let it stew for 2 hours or until three-quarters done.
Remove the ham and cool.
Assemble and bake the pie
Prepare a crust large enough to hold the ham.
Place the ham in the crust.
Surround the ham with veal forcemeat.
Cover and decorate the pie.
Bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) for about 1.5 hours.
Once done, remove the cover.
Glaze the top.
Make the sauce
Pour the sauce made from the cooking liquid.
Skim the fat from the cooking liquid.
Thicken the liquid with flour and butter.
Add a few drops of browning sauce.
Season with cayenne pepper.
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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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sherry + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,505 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Ham + sherrytop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together377 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).
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Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,338 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Ham + vealtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,264 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ham
- Is the main meat, becoming tender and flavorful as it is slowly stewed.
- Madeira or sherry
- Adds sweetness and aroma to the stewing liquid and the sauce.
- Veal stock
- Provides moisture and savory body that cooks the ham and forms the base of the sauce.
- Veal forcemeat
- Adds moist, tender filling that surrounds the ham inside the crust.
- Flour
- Thickens the cooking liquid into a smooth sauce.
- Butter
- Enriches the thickened sauce with fat and a smooth texture.
The step that matters
Skim the fat from the cooking liquid. Fat left on the liquid can make the sauce greasy and cloud its appearance. Removing it before thickening gives a cleaner, smoother sauce.
“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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