Why it works: Pork and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 37% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,579 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Fitzsimon Family Receipt for Curing Hams
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare and cure
Cut the ham from the hind‑quarter of pork in a handsome shape.
Mix saltpetre, common salt, and brown sugar together.
Rub the mixture well into the ham.
Let the ham sit in the pickle for a month, turning and basting it daily.
Smoke and store
Hang the ham in wood smoke in a dry place.
For long‑term storage, hang it in a damp place for one to two months.
Soak and boil
Before boiling, soak the ham in cold water for three to four hours, skimming the pot often until it boils.
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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Pork + sugartop 37% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,579 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
- Pork hind-quarter
- Provides the main meat, whose structure firms and sets as it cures and cooks.
- Common salt
- Draws out moisture and preserves the meat while seasoning it through.
- Saltpetre
- Acts as a curing agent that helps preserve the ham and give it its cured colour.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and depth that balances the sharpness of the salt.
The step that matters
Soaking before boiling. Cured ham carries a lot of surface salt. Soaking in cold water for several hours draws out excess salt so the finished ham is not overly salty. Skimming keeps the cooking liquid clear of the foam that rises as it heats.
“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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