Why it works: Pepper and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,395 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
To Cure Hams
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Hang the hams for 1-2 days.
Sprinkle with a little salt and drain for another day.
Mix saltpetre, coarse sea salt, sal-prunella, and coarse sugar well.
Dry-cure
Rub the mixture into each ham daily for 4 days, turning the ham each time.
For small hams, turn daily for 3 weeks.
For large hams, turn daily for 4 weeks.
Do not rub after 4 days.
Drain the hams before drying.
Cover the hams with bran.
Smoke the hams for 10 days.
Second cure and hang
Mix saltpetre, bay salt, coarse sugar, and common salt in fine powder.
Rub this mixture thoroughly into the ham, then lay the rind down.
Baste with the pickle as often as possible for 4 weeks, turning the ham daily.
Drain the hams.
Cover the hams with bran.
Hang the hams in a chimney for 10 days.
Pickle and smoke
Boil saltpetre, bay salt, common salt, coarse sugar, and strong beer together.
Pour the mixture over the ham.
Turn the ham twice daily in the pickle for 3 weeks.
Add black pepper and allspice for more flavor.
Cover the ham with bran when wiped.
Smoke the ham for 3-4 weeks.
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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Pepper + allspicetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,395 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Beer + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together940 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Beer + allspicetop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together108 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyl acetate (fruit).
-
Sugar + beertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together699 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Sugar + allspicetop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,938 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Saltpetre
- Helps preserve the meat and gives the cured ham its characteristic colour.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws moisture out of the meat and seasons it, slowing spoilage.
- Coarse sugar
- Balances the harshness of the salt and adds a mild sweetness.
- Common salt
- Draws moisture out of the meat and seasons it during the pickle stages.
- Strong beer
- Forms the liquid pickle that carries flavour and salt into the ham.
The step that matters
Rubbing the cure in evenly and then stopping after four days. Salt and nitrate move into meat slowly by diffusion, so uneven or excessive rubbing leaves some areas over-salted and others under-cured. Turning the ham keeps the cure in contact with all surfaces.
Swap the allspice
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, beer, pepper):
- Gingerfits better
- Cinnamonfits better
- Clovefits about as well
- Allspicethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, beer, pepper. 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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