Why it works: Sugar and vinegar 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 ↓
Westphalia Hams
Ingredients
Directions
Cure
Rub the hams with common salt and drain them.
Mix saltpetre, coarse sugar, and common salt; rub this mixture into the ham.
Age and dry
After 3 days, pour 1 pint of vinegar over the ham.
Pour old strong beer over the hams.
Burn juniper wood while drying.
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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Sugar + vinegartop 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
- Saltpetre
- Acts as a curing agent that preserves the meat and gives it a characteristic colour.
- Common salt
- Draws moisture out of the ham and helps preserve it.
- Coarse sugar
- Balances the sharpness of the salt and mellows the flavour of the cure.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that gives the ham a sharp, tangy note.
The step that matters
Rubbing in the cure. Salt and saltpetre preserve meat by drawing out water and slowing spoilage, so the cure must be worked evenly into every part of the ham. Missed areas can spoil while others stay under-cured.
“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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