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To Dress Hams

A ham that is soaked, simmered, and flavored with spices and herbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and laurel are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,516 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

To Dress Hams

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Soak the ham in soft water for 16 hours if it's old; no soaking needed for a green ham.

  2. Wrap the ham in a linen bag and let it mellow for 2-3 days in a cool place, covered to keep vermin away.

  3. Wash and brush the ham, then simmer it in a boiler of water for 3.5 to 5 hours, depending on its size.

Cook and finish

  1. For added flavor, boil cloves, bay leaves, laurel leaves, and herbs with the ham.

  2. Remove the skin carefully to keep the ham moist.

  3. Strew raspings over the ham and garnish with sliced carrot.

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. Clove + laureltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Carrot + clovetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,873 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  3. Carrot + laureltop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,780 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

  4. Ham + clovetop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,666 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).

  5. Ham + carrottop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,918 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
Forms the main body of the dish and supplies the cured meat flavor.
Raspings
Adds a crumbly, toasted-bread texture and crisp coating over the surface.
Coarse sea salt
Seasons the ham and helps preserve and firm the meat during curing.

The step that matters

Removing the skin. Cutting or pulling the skin carelessly can tear the layer of fat beneath it and dry out the meat, so it should be lifted off gently to keep the ham moist.

“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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